The Evil Chaos Emeralds 2: The Wrath of Glaron
by Joe97
Summary: One year after Eggman has fallen, Eggman Nega discovers the destruction of his former comrade. He teams up with a new villain named Glaron to seek revenge on Sonic and his friends. Contains a few OCs. Please R&R.
1. Looking For Closure

Hello everybody and welcome to the exciting sequel of the evil chaos emeralds. I started writing this story a long time ago after I finished the original but couldn't find the interest to finish it. Now here I am after completing my rewrite of the original to finish the sequel. Some of the original ideas remain intact but some of it is subject to change. Anyway, here is the sequel to the evil chaos emeralds.

_**Chapter 1: Looking For Closure**_

It had been nearly a year since Eggman was defeated and the evil chaos emeralds were destroyed. Life returned to normal for our heroes but there was one hedgehog that could not shake the events from his mind. Sonic was resting against a tree in the jungle, trying to clear his head from the images that filled it. In his anger he'd attacked Eggman, blasting him down through the atmosphere and back into the planet he so longed to conquer; only this time, he would not be around to try it again.

Looking at his palm, Sonic remembered the warm glow of the emeralds as they imbued him with power. They came through for him when he was in a pinch, just like he'd believed, but did he make the right decision with their power? Shaking his head from the indecision, he stood up and ran off to see if talking with Tails could help calm his doubts.

He arrived at the workshop to find Tails in the kitchen, packing a picnic basket.

"Hey Tails, what's up?"

"Oh hey Sonic" said Tails as he placed another sandwich in the basket "I was just finishing packing."

"Got a date with Cream today?"

Tails blushed at the thought.

"Well not really. I'm going to a picnic and she'll be there but so are Amy, Rouge, and Knuckles so it's not quite a date."

He closed the basket and turned to face the blue blur.

"You should come along. I was going to invite you earlier but I couldn't find you anywhere."

"I was in the jungle; I needed to clear my head. Actually that brings me to why I stopped by."

"Do you care if we talk about it while we walk? I don't want to keep the others waiting."

"Sure no problem" smiled the hedgehog.

The two of them exited the workshop and made their way down the stairs. The picnic was to be held on the grassy plain of Angel Island; a decision that was made to accommodate Knuckles. Despite his excitement to be with everyone, he couldn't help but let his guardian instincts control him. Sonic and Tails took their time as they walked, taking in the sights a little more closely than they normally would.

"So what's going on?" asked Tails.

"I keep having flashbacks to when I fought Eggman; it feels like I'm living it all over again."

"It's been about a year since you fought him, shouldn't everything be put to rest?"

"That's the thing Tails, there's one detail I didn't tell anyone about."

Sonic swallowed a lump in his throat before continuing, making sure to make eye contact with Tails.

"I tried to get Eggman to change his ways, I really did, but he was as stubborn as always. I told him he deserved to die…and then I killed him."

Tails was speechless at what he heard. He knew how serious Sonic was before he left that day, but for him to actually go through with killing Eggman was something unlike him.

"I…I thought he was just dormant, making another one of his crazy schemes."

"I can't forgive myself for what I've done. I let my anger at everything he's done get the best of me. Maybe I'm no better than Eggman."

"Don't say that Sonic" Tails tried to assure him "We never know what Eggman could've been planning and when he attacked us that day he wanted us to know it was kill or be killed. If you hadn't done that, then we might not be here today to enjoy this picnic."

"Still, I watched him fall to his death. I had the power to save him and I chose to end him. I don't know if I even deserve to use the chaos emeralds at all."

Before they could continue chatting, Amy ran up to them and attacked Sonic with a hug.

"Sonic!" she wailed "I missed you so much!"

He noticed his usual instinct of fearing Amy was strangely absent this time. He welcomed the invitation from her.

"Thanks Amy. I'm happy to see you too."

She smiled softly at him, her heart doing cartwheels in her chest. They had arrived at Angel Island and were greeted by the others as they took their place in the circle on the blanket.

"About time you got here" teased Knuckles "I thought I was going to starve to death."

"That's Knuckles for you" moaned Rouge "If he's not thinking about the master emerald he's thinking about his stomach."

"I could say the same about you!" he laughed.

"And just what is that supposed to mean?"

"Ok" Cream intervened "Let these two talk long enough and a fight is sure to break out."

She smiled at Tails as he sat down beside her.

"It's nice to see you again" she said as her cheeks became rosy.

Tails returned the gesture.

"Likewise" he said while rubbing the back of his head.

They all settled into their spots and let the memories flow as Amy passed out some sandwiches. It was almost surreal for Sonic, to be sitting with the friends that he nearly lost because of Eggman. He smiled away his pain and let the blue sky remind him of the hero he is. The group was so engrossed in their stories that they neglected to notice a certain purple weasel hiding in the bushes.

"I haven't had a bite to eat in forever" complained Nack as he held his stomach "I just have to be quick and that basket will be mine!"

Nack slowly moved in closer until he was in a bush just a few feet from the group. With great haste he lunged forward and snatched the basket, tumbling away from them and running away as fast as he could.

"Hey!" cried Rouge "That dirty weasel has our lunch!"

Sonic stood up and was getting ready to chase after him when he noticed a strange figure emerge and attack Nack with a torrent of fire! The figure pulled back the flames and held Nack up his by vest, dragging him back to the party. As they approached, the figure came into the light to reveal it was none other than Blaze the Cat.

"Sorry if I surprised you" she smiled "I think this belongs to you."

The group cheered and Cream hurried from her spot to give her friend a hug.

"It's good to see you too Cream" she smiled.

As they took a moment to welcome her, Knuckles caught sight of Nack as he tried to sneak away. He grabbed him by the vest.

"What's the big idea?" Knuckles shouted "Do you have to try and ruin everything?"

"I'm sorry!" he wailed "I was just hungry!"

"Well if you want a sandwich that bad then you could've just asked. You really need to change your attitude and maybe you wouldn't feel like you have to steal from us all the time."

Knuckles words touched Nack.

"You'd really let me eat with you guys?"

"Yes, as long as you stop trying to make my life Hell."

Nack chuckled and grabbed a sandwich from the basket, chomping at it viciously from hunger. The others laughed at this and returned to their spots at the picnic.

"It's awesome we get to see you again" noted Sonic "But it must be difficult travelling between dimensions like that. Is there any particular reason you came here?"

"Yeah actually" she answered "Don't get me wrong, I'm excited to see you guys but there's another reason I'm here. There's going to be trouble showing up in your dimension really soon."

The others were puzzled at her words, unaware of what could possibly be happening.

_**-Several Days Earlier-**_

Deep in the mountains were the remains of Eggman's fortress. There was little more than the supporting floor and various piles of broken glass and chemicals. Traces of Eggman's work still lingered but were destroyed in the explosion. A figure hiding himself in a black robe shuffled about, taking in the sights of the destruction.

"Such a waste" he spoke with sadness in his voice "Of all the creative minds I've ever met, yours was the most perfect. We could've ruled this world together; and all others beyond it."

He glanced down at his gloved hand that held seven square emeralds within it. He teleported away to a grassy knoll just behind the mountains where a tombstone sat at its peak. It wasn't much but considering Eggman's body was completely erased, it was all he could do. The wind blew a cold breath across the air, further icing over the heart of this mysterious man.

As he reflected on the sight of the tombstone, another hooded figure appeared behind him.

"It really is a shame" he spoke with an eerie innocence "It's very rare to find a man as smart as him."

The face of the figure had fur around his mouth as he smiled to himself.

"But I think you are his equal and then some; Eggman Nega."


	2. The Plan Begins

_**Chapter 2: The Plan Begins**_

Nega chuckled to himself.

"I had a feeling someone was following me but I wasn't expecting someone like you. It seems you've done your homework, Mister…?"

"Glaron, just Glaron is fine."

"So Glaron, I take it you want to make a deal?"

Glaron smirked behind his hood.

"You're pretty straightforward; my kind of attitude. I know you're interested in Eggman's last invention and so am I. Let's work together on this and we can recreate the genius of your friend. In return for your help, I'll show you who is responsible for the death of Eggman and you can plan your revenge."

Nega laughed and turned to face the stranger, noticing the green fur around his face.

"All deals come with a price, what's the rub?"

"No rub my friend, just pure vengeance. There's someone I want revenge on as well. You'd be doing me a favor as much as I would to you."

Nega was silent for a moment, turning over his thoughts behind his silver moustache.

"Very well; I accept your assistance."

The two shook hands on the silent hillside, leaving the world ignorant to the evil that was festering in their hearts.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"What kind of trouble are we talkin' here?" asked Sonic.

"Well" started Blaze "It began when I noticed the Sol Emeralds had gone missing. The second I turn my back they disappear without a trace."

"I know the feeling" pouted Knuckles.

"Anyway, I was able to trace the trail of the energy from the emeralds to a rift in the dimensions. I followed their lead and it brought me to your dimension and there's only one person I can imagine who would want to come here: Eggman Nega."

Sonic snuffed "He's just as persistent as a guy I know…used to know…"

Sonic drifted back into his thoughts and before Blaze could ask, Amy shook her head at the notion. She knew something was bothering Sonic and was quick to defend his emotions.

"If being a genius makes you want to be evil then I want no part of it."

"Wow Sonic that was really deep" Tails added.

Sonic smirked at his friend as a large shadow eclipsed the picnic. A large red robot pulled itself up from the ocean to stand before them. It had two large pincers for hands and a glass dome over the cockpit. Its chest was brazen with an emblem that had a silver N over a lightning bolt.

It pulled back its claw and launched it into the center of the group! Sonic grabbed Amy and Blaze grabbed Cream and leapt out of the way while the others fended for themselves. A large craterous hole was left where their reunion once was. Sonic scowled at the robot and leapt into the air. He landed a diving kick to its chest only to feel its toughness shake up his leg as he landed back on the ground.

"This thing is a lot stronger than what I'm used to" he thought.

He looked over at Blaze who nodded back at him. The two of them jumped at the robot and used a spin dash on his chest to force the robot to stumble backwards. It brought down one of its pincers and grabbed Blaze out of the air while Sonic landed back on the ground. Blaze squirmed within the claw as it tightened its grip. She released all the fire from her body and melted through the claw to free herself.

The robot swung his injured arm at her and missed, crashing into the ground at Sonic. The blue blur leapt out of the way and back into the air, gaining a foothold on Blaze's ready hands. She propelled him higher into the air and he shattered through the glass and into the cockpit.

"It's over!" he cried, left only to ponder the words himself.

He expected to see Nega piloting the machine but found a lonely seat in his stead. The levers and buttons were moving themselves and the screen lit up with a red light after Sonic landed near it. A bomb detonated right in Sonic's face and launched him out of the cockpit and back into the air. The robot fell onto the ground with smoke blowing from its head.

"Sonic!" screamed Blaze as she jumped after him.

Before she could get to him, a red liquid arched through the air and over the robot to engulf the hedgehog! As it hit the ground, it moved away with him inside and hurried towards the direction of the desert. Blaze hit the ground and pursued the mysterious force with Knuckles following in close behind. Amy looked at Tails and Rouge with spite.

"Aren't you going to help them you two?"

"The two of them will be enough" spat Rouge "They don't need my help, and someone needs to stay here in case something else shows up."

Amy looked at Tails.

"I'm not cut out for physical combat" noted Tails "Besides, I'm going to investigate that robot and see if I can find out anything."

Amy walked off in a huff at their words. She didn't mean to be short with them but she was feeling a lot of stress from seeing Sonic being taken away like that. She grabbed a pebble and threw it into the ocean as hard as she could.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Blaze and Knuckles chased after the strange substance that contained an injured Sonic. It was surprisingly fast and forced the heroes to keep running their hardest. They pursued it a ways into Sandopolis before it stopped dead in its tracks. The heroes panted as they watched the sphere to see what it would do. The liquid melted onto the ground around Sonic before forming into a monster that resembled Chaos.

"Is that Chaos?" wailed Knuckles.

"Is he a friend of yours?" asked Blaze.

"He should be but his body isn't normally red; there must be something wrong."

A black portal opened up behind the figure and he grabbed Sonic and jumped inside. Knuckles rushed forward to try and grab him but the portal closed before he had the chance.

"Dammit!" he cried "He's got Sonic in there!"

"There's nothing we can do for the time being. Let's head back."

Knuckles nodded and the two started their way back.

"Things sure have gotten weird" he noted.

Blaze nodded.

"That creature was moving really quickly; he must've really wanted to capture Sonic and that black portal was especially strange."

"How so?" asked Knuckles.

"It's the same kind of portal that I use to travel between my dimension and yours. That kind of rift can only be made using the Sol emeralds."

"That must mean that Eggman Nega is controlling Chaos somehow!"

"It definitely sounds possible."

The conversation was cut short when two giant worms burst forth from the sand below. They had small antennas and hundreds of teeth as they growled at the two heroes. Like the robot before them, they had the symbol with the silver N and lightning bolt.


	3. Nega's Superior Invention

_**Chapter 3: Nega's Superior Invention**_

Tails had just finished some minor repairs on the giant robot to make it function again. Cream and Amy waited for him at his workshop as he maneuvered the machine over the mountain to his landing strip. Nack had run away at one point but no one else had cared enough to notice. Rouge stayed behind on Angel Island to watch the master emerald. After all the time she had spent around Knuckles, she could feel the things that were important to him were becoming the same for her.

Tails rested the robot in a seated position as he flew down to the workshop and went inside. Cream and Tails were all over the place, picking up various tools and using different programs on Tails' computer. Amy marveled at their teamwork as they moved. She knew Cream spent a lot of time at Tails' workshop but had no idea how much she'd learned in the past year. The two of them headed back outside and flew up to the cockpit to begin their work. Amy sat on the doorstep and worried about Sonic, as usual. She smiled when she noticed Cheese was dancing beside her to cheer her up.

"You're such a funny little guy" she said as she hugged him.

Tails disassembled the monitor and connected a different device to the wires. He watched as the screen flickered with binary code and miscellaneous characters.

"The robot wasn't being controlled from this cockpit and it's too complicated a machine to be left alone, so it must've been receiving commands from a remote place. If my computer goes through I'll be able to find out where the signal was coming from."

Cream nodded as the two of them watched the screen. Several coordinates appeared on a graph and were printed out from the side of the machine.

"Yes!" cheered Tails "Now we can find out where the enemy is hiding."

"I'll bet you anything it's Eggman Nega" added Cream "He's just as arrogant as Eggman himself by putting that emblem on its chest."

Tails laughed in agreement. Before they could go any further, electricity began to spur inside the robot and it became animated once more. Tails disconnected his computer and grabbed Cream with his free arm, leaping down from the cockpit. He used his tails to land safely as they turned to watch the machine return to life yet again!

"We've got trouble!" Tails announced, handing the machine to Cream "Take this and go inside with Amy! I'll get the Tornado 2!"

Cream grabbed Amy's hand and ran inside with Cheese right behind. Tails threw open the garage door and revved up the engine on the Tornado 2. He flew up straight in front of the machine and fired off a round of missiles. He cheered to himself as a pool of smoke shrouded the robot. Before he could celebrate victory, the claw that was still intact lunged at the Tornado and damaged part of its wing.

He struggled with his machine as it touched down. The damaged arm of the robot drove itself full force at him and he jerked his machine out of the way just in time. Cream and Amy had been watching and saw that Tails was in trouble.

"Come on!" cried the rabbit.

"What are you doing?"

"We're going to help Tails" she said as she shuffled through various cabinets in the lab.

"How can we do that?" asked Amy "We don't have any weapons that can damage that thing."

"Oh yes we do!"

Cream unveiled a large cannon that sat on her shoulder. Amy nodded at her and the two ran outside.

"Tails!" wailed Cream.

The fox turned to see the two girls rushing out to him. He looked back quickly to see the machine about to thrust its claw at the girls. Tails aimed his gun at the chest of the robot and fired a powerful volley which did little damage but knocked it back on its rear.

"Get on the wings you two!" he yelled "I've got just enough power to lift up one more time."

The girls took their positions and Tails lifted the Tornado 2 to about chest height on the machine. It stood back up and opened a panel in its torso to reveal a large cannon.

"When I shoot this blast Amy, smack it as hard as you can with your hammer!" yelled Cream.

Amy nodded and readied her hammer like a baseball bat. The machine's cannon glowed with purple energy as it powered up. Cream fired her cannon and a white ball of energy released itself slowly from the barrel.

"Now!" screamed Tails.

Amy pulled her hammer through the air with all the force she could, colliding with the back of the energy ball and launching it in the robot's direction! The ball cascaded through the cannon on the robot and detonated it from the inside out. Tails pulled back the Tornado 2 to avoid the fire from the blast and watched as the sky rained down with pieces of hot steel. The air inflated with dark smoke as he landed the plane away from the mayhem to let the girls leap down from the wings.

"What a rush!" squealed Amy "No wonder Sonic is so eager for adventure!"

The others chuckled at her excitement before returning their gaze to the smoldering robot.

"This robot was a lot stronger than anything we've faced" Tails commented "We were barely able to defeat that thing. Eggman never built anything like that; I can only wonder what kind of things Nega is capable of creating."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Eggman Nega removed his black cloak and placed it on a coat rack. He wore his usual lab coat that complemented his shiny moustache.

"If I hadn't worn this coat when I escaped from my dimension I might have been followed by that meddling Blaze."

He turned to look at the laboratory before him where the hooded Glaron was busy typing away in front of a large computer.

"Everything is going perfectly" Nega noted "I picked up Cataclysm at the checkpoint in Sandopolis and we have the hedgehog. Are you sure someone as weak as him was able to defeat Eggman?"

"Yes I'm certain. He may seem weak right now but when he uses the chaos emeralds he is unmatched in power."

A blueprint for the chaos emeralds came up on the monitor.

"Eggman's final invention was a set of 'evil emeralds' as he called them which fed off his intentions. He tried to use that fact to his advantage but it failed when pitted against that hedgehog and his spirit. This was all I could learn from the leftovers of his base."

He handed a folder with several papers inside it to Nega, explaining the event in more detail.

"It will take some time but we will learn just what that hedgehog has that allows him to harness that power."

"And when we do, I will harness that energy from the Sol emeralds!"

The figure chuckled with Nega at the thought of such a plan.

"By now my robot should have wiped out most of his little friends. I'm going to collect the other emeralds for our research."

Nega placed the folder on a table and climbed into an egg-o-matic, opening a black portal to depart through.

"What a fool" Glaron jeered "For a man who is so smart, he is incredibly gullible. It's a shame his hunger for revenge will consume him: a mistake I will not make."

Glaron stared at the monitor as a large set of emeralds received energy from two other sets. He pulled back his hood to marvel at his master plan before him. The glow of the screen illuminated the fox's green face.


	4. Sand Worms Strike!

_**Chapter 4: Sand Worms Strike!**_

One of the worms thrust itself at Knuckles who leapt up on to his back.

"You're just another hunk of metal" he taunted.

He slammed his fists against its back but to no avail. His surprise distracted him from the thrashing of the worm and sent him tumbling across the air. He landed roughly on the sand with the wind being knocked out of him.

"This thing is a lot tougher than I thought."

Blaze charged the other worm with her body shrouded in fire. She collided into it and began to spin around it in a torrent of flames. The temperature reached a high level before she stopped and landed back on her feet. The worm was unfazed by her attack and wriggled its body until the fire disappeared.

"I know it was built to withstand the desert heat" she commented "But that was easily twice, even three times the temperature out here."

The worm barreled itself down at her with its mouth open. Blaze unleashed the flames from her hands and was barely able to hold the beast above her. She struggled beneath its mighty jaws, wincing at the sight of its tunnel-like throat. Knuckles charged the beast from the side and used his shoulder to knock the worm in the other direction.

"We can't beat these things alone. We have to work together."

"Right" she nodded "But how can we use our powers together?"

"I noticed you can surround your body with flames, you think that would work on my fists?"

"Yeah it should, but your body isn't used to this kind of heat. It could be detrimental."

"It's a risk we're going to have to take" he noted "These things are too fast to let us escape."

"Alright then"

She held her hands out over Knuckles' fists as the flames slithered out from her body like snakes. They circled his knuckles and covered them in a deep fire. He winced as the heat increased but shook the pain from his mind as he readied himself.

"Here I go, get ready to back me up!"

She nodded while watching him take off in a sprint. He ran up to one of the worms and juked to the side, leaping up onto its back. He pulled back his fists and began hammering away at the exterior. Slowly it gave way until finally the skin broke enough to create a small gash. He grabbed the metallic flesh by the wound and pulled back enough to reveal the metallic interior.

"Go now!" he cried.

Blaze jumped into the air and covered her body in flames once more. She started spinning like a fireball and drove herself into the worm through its wound. The interior was much easier to damage as she maneuvered about, destroying everything she could. The worm began to smoke and spur with electricity. Knuckles jumped away from the creature as its mouth radiated a large beam of light.

The beast exploded in a large mushroom-shaped explosion with Blaze flying up through it center. The other worm was watching the mayhem and Knuckles used the opportunity to strike. He climbed upon the other creature's back and followed the same steps as before. Blaze saw this from up above and used her altitude to slam the creature in the soft spot. It wailed and jostled as it followed the fate of its twin.

Blaze struck so quickly that Knuckles didn't have enough time to escape the fury and was sent hurdling through the air from the explosion. His head bounced around on the sand as he crashed into the grainy Earth. Sitting up he tried to shake the dizziness from his head. The fire on his hands had gone out and his gloves were burned completely through. His hands ached from the degree of the burn.

His thoughts returned to Blaze as he looked about the area for her. He called her name, trying to throw his voice beyond the noisy sound of the burning carcass but failed to do so. He fretted to himself as he stood up, noticing the sand several meters away begin to rustle. Blaze popped out head first, spitting the grains from her mouth with a rancid expression on her face. Knuckles ran over to her with a smile.

"Doesn't taste to good does it?" he joked.

"Not at all"

He grabbed her hand and pulled her up, helping her brush the sand off of her clothes.

"That was really rough" Knuckles pointed out "I've never fought a battle so difficult before."

"Me neither. Nega never created anything that strong back in our dimension."

"Likewise for our mad doctor"

"Something must've changed about him; his skills must've improved sharply over the past few days. I wonder what he's done to himself."

"That's the million dollar question"

"Well he does have the Sol emeralds" she noted "There's no telling what effect that could have on him."

"We should probably get back though, there's no telling what may have gone down while we were away."

"Right"

The two of them hurried back to Tails' workshop to check in with their friends. The site of the defeated robot was discerning to them as they entered.

"I take it we missed some action" Knuckles teased.

"And how!" cried Amy "You should've seen our teamwork out there!"

"She's just a little excited" Cream noted "It really did take all of our efforts to bring that thing down."

"Likewise for us" Blaze commented "We ran into some trouble out in the desert."

Amy looked at them with a somber face.

"I take it you weren't able to rescue Sonic."

Knuckles looked away and scratched his head.

"I'm sorry: it got away through a portal in the dimension."

She let her head droop downwards as she walked out of the room. Cream spoke in her place.

"After everything that happened last year it's hard on her to handle something like this."

"Regardless" Tails added "Whatever Nega is trying to do he means business. We can't let him catch us off guard anymore; we have to take the fight to him."

He held up the paper that had the coordinates on it.

"His HQ is in the Lava Reef Zone. It's time for us to end this madness and get Sonic back."

In that brief moment, Tails sounded a lot like the blue friend they all admired.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Things were quiet on the Angel Island. The sunlight drifted in and out behind the cloud and began to annoy Rouge.

"How does Knuckles stand this all day? It's incredibly boring out here."

She sat with her legs crossed on the top stair of the shrine and used her hand to shield her eyes from the light. In her moment of prissiness she failed to notice the dark portal that had opened up behind the shrine. Her ears perked as she heard the soft footsteps of a man wearing boots. She stood up and turned around quickly to meet the nozzle of Nega's gun.

"It is awfully boring out here isn't it?" he taunted "Let me take all these emeralds off your hands."

From the corner of her eye she saw a red substance form up beside Nega.

"Chaos…?"

Cataclysm attacked her with a heavy one two punch that sent her flying backwards down the stairs. The last things she saw was the sky and Nega with his creature standing upside down on the shrine before she knocked her head against the bottom stair and fell unconscious.

With no one around to guard the emeralds, Eggman Nega gathered up the chaos emeralds into a bag and used the claw on his egg-o-matic to pull the master emerald from its pedestal. With Cataclysm holding onto the side of his machine, they disappeared into the dark portal from whence they came.


	5. Danger Begins in Lava Reef

Hello again; how do you like the story so far? I'm open to all feedback if you have suggestions for me. I'd like to take a moment to thank Storm337 who suggested the use of Blaze and Eggman Nega. I hadn't even considered them but once I began using them I realized they fit perfectly into the story. Thanks a lot buddy.

_**Chapter 5: Danger Begins in Lava Reef**_

The team began their preparations for the attack on Nega's fortress.

"I haven't seen Rouge in a while" Knuckles noted.

"She's on Angel Island" Amy added "She stayed behind to guard the master emerald."

Knuckles smiled to himself at the thought.

"I'll go tell her about our plans."

Knuckles headed down the stairs and out the cave towards the floating island. He ran across the bridge to the shrine but saw no sign of Rouge anywhere. He felt a disheartening fear as headed up the stairs to see the master emerald and the chaos emeralds had been stolen. He pounded his fist against the shrine floor and yelled at the idea of where it could have been taken. He shook the emotions from his head and began to look around for Rouge. To his dismay he discovered her sprawled out beneath a bush, realizing the terror in his belly had become even truer than before.

"Rouge!" he cried.

He lifted her head up with his arms and tried to wake her. She was unconscious and had a nasty bruise on her head. Knuckles growled at the sight of it and knew someone was going to pay dearly for this. He lifted her in his arms and carried her carefully back to the workshop. He was unable to open the door and kicked at it with his foot. Tails answered and was shocked along with the rest of the group at what they saw.

"What happened?" squealed Cream.

"I don't know" Knuckles replied glumly "I found her like this in one of the bushes. Someone must've ambushed her while she was alone because all of the emeralds are gone."

"Damn" pouted Tails "Nega must've had all this planned out. He's got Sonic and the emeralds now so there's no telling what he could be plotting. We need to get going and strike him full force."

Knuckles nodded, feeling some comfort in the leadership Tails was showing. Amy and Cream agreed to stay behind and look after Rouge and the workshop. They had proven themselves to be strong when they defeated the robot together and left little room for doubt in the other's minds.

"Alright then, let's go" asserted Tails.

Blaze and Knuckles travelled light and brought only the clothes on their body. Tails brought a beige backpack with a few small devices and a vial of blue liquid.

"Prepared for the worst?" Knuckles teased.

Tails laughed "Well I don't really have any powers besides flying, so I brought a few things to even the playing field."

Blaze and Knuckles opened the top flap so they could look inside.

"What's inside this bottle?" Blaze inquired.

"It's basically a healing potion. I've been working on a formula for quite a while so it's still far from perfect. I have a hunch we'll need it at some point down the line."

They walked away from the workshop and towards the jungle. They hiked through its leafy undergrowth towards the mountains and beyond the boulders. The earth began to glow red beneath their feet and they knew they were approaching the volcanoes. They entered an open passage which they had used years ago to chase after Eggman and followed it through to an open area with a dark sky.

The air was ashy and had a thick sulfur smell to it. In the distance they could see various small eruptions of magma force itself up from under the rocky surface.

"My kind of place" Blaze cooed "I bet I could do some rigorous training here sometime."

"Just don't get too carried away" Knuckles warned "That lava is a lot hotter than it looks."

Blaze chuckled at the thought.

"I can handle a little lava" she boasted "I'm so hot that one day I'll make the sun look like a giant snowball."

The others laughed at the thought but knew just how strong her powers really were. They continued hiking across the dark, hot plains until they reached a river of pure lava that blocked their path.

"There's no way I'm jumping over that!" cried Knuckles.

"I'll just have to fly you guys over the gap" groaned Tails.

He started to take off his backpack when Blaze motioned for him to stop.

"I'll accommodate you boys; wouldn't want you to break a nail."

Knuckles grunted at the joke as he and Tails watch Blaze heat up her body. She spun in a tornado of fire as she graced the surface of the lava and parted it like it was water. She stopped on the other side of the river and motioned for them to come across. They moved quickly across the barren surface with the eerie walls of magma staring them down as they ran. They made it across safely as the thick red liquid splashed back down into its original shape.

"I could've just glided over ya know" taunted Knuckles, not wanting to feel useless.

"Like I said before, I can handle a little lava" Blaze noted "This is my kind of territory so it'll be faster if I lead from here on out."

By nature, Knuckles felt he should disagree but realized the truth in her words and swallowed his opinion. They continued across the rocky terrain until they were forced to pass beneath a volcano. The hot mountain sputtered and grumbled before spewing the red fluid through the air! Knuckles struck the ground and pulled up a boulder large enough to shield the three of them.

Bits of volcanic ash burst against the other side of their shield as the rage of the volcano subsided. Knuckles pushed the boulder over to look at the new landscape before them. The ground was covered completely with running lava except for various stepping stones that led across to the other side of the volcano.

"Come on!" ordered Blaze as she started hopping across them.

The others followed, making sure to watch their footing as they leaped. Blaze stopped short on one stone as the one before her sunk into the magma below.

"Dammit" she hissed.

She looked back at the others to see them jumping hurriedly onto her rock. Before she could question them, she saw the platforms they were just standing on sink into the lava as well. They each grabbed each other as the rock threatened to tip itself over.

"This is bad guys!" cried Knuckles.

Tails took the initiative and lifted himself with his tails. He grabbed Knuckles by the hand who grabbed Blaze by her waist.

"Don't think this means anything" he noted "Rouge would kill me if she knew about this."

"You're not exactly my type either" she laughed.

Tails used all his strength to hold onto them as he piloted them across the fiery pathway. Just as things seemed to cool down, one of the rock platforms below began to spur. A stream of magma shot up into the air, launching the stone through the air at the heroes!

Knuckles noticed it at the last second and released himself from Tails' grip.

"Hang on!"

He began to glide across the fiery floor with Blaze clinging to his back. They had just enough altitude to clear the magma and landed safely on the other side just as Tails did.

"I thought this was supposed to be your kind of territory?" he teased Blaze.

"Keep it up and I'll tell Rouge that you pulled that stunt just to have me hold onto you!"

"I'm just kidding!" he fretted.

Tails laughed at their antics. The way Blaze bickered with Knuckles reminded him of how Sonic would do the same thing, making him miss Sonic all the more.

"We're coming Sonic" Tails whispered to himself.

They travelled a little ways farther to find the fortress they had been looking for. It was perched up on a small hill with various steel pipes and mechanisms sprouting out from its sides. Its exterior was painted with cold cobalt that made any who look upon wary of the idea of entering it. The sky had grown so dark and sulfuric that a storm was beginning to brew in the air above the fort. Taking a moment to swallow his fears, Tails readied himself before entering the fortress of Glaron.


	6. Enemies Emerge

_**Chapter 6: Enemies Emerge**_

Deep into the base hidden in Lava Reef was a room where strange experiments occurred. There were various chemicals and capsules filled with bizarre machines that were once creatures of flesh. One such capsule quietly suspended a blue hedgehog within a green liquid. His body floated gently in the fluid as his mind rolled its thoughts over and over again.

"I killed him…I really killed him. I'm supposed to protect lives not end them, no matter how evil they are."

Sonic remembered all the characters he'd encountered that opposed him but later changed their ways. Knuckles, Shadow and even some of Eggman's own robots like Omega had turned away from the path of evil. If they could stop themselves from doing something wrong, why couldn't Sonic? Why did he kill Eggman?

"Was I really that desperate that I had to end him? I'm nothing but a hypocrite; who am I to choose a life to end?"

His spirit felt flimsy as he drifted in the substance, feeling his heart roll up and down in his stomach. He breathed gently into the mask on his face, wishing that he would just drown and die to end his turmoil. The room was dark and cold; only a gentle light coming from the top of a stairwell. Just then he heard footsteps; boots that were clanging against the steel steps. A figure flipped several switches on the wall that activated several dim lights across the room: one above a table in the center of the room and several around other capsules. Sonic's capsule in particular was isolated from the others and had its own strand of lights around its bottom.

Eggman Nega was revealed in the new lighting as he approached the capsule Sonic was in.

"So you're Sonic" he began "You're the one responsible for killing my friend; no, my brother."

He removed his glasses to unveil two silver colored eyes beneath them. Sonic's eyes were squinted because of the fluid around them so he couldn't return the stare.

"You're nothing but a god damned hypocrite, you know that right?"

He looked over Sonic as if to give him one more analysis. He placed his glasses back over his eyes and walked over to the table in the room, looking through several papers.

"I've thought long and hard about what I would do to you when I got my hands on you; and I think I finally know."

He pulled out a page in particular and held it up in front of Sonic's capsule. The blueprint outlined a square device with an antenna.

"This is what will justify your sins my friend. If you thought Eggman was evil then you'll be ready for Hell when I'm done with you."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sitting at a small table before his computer, Glaron was using a small drill on an emerald shaped machine. He looked up from his work to watch one of the cameras on the monitor. Blaze, Knuckles, and Tails were breaking through the guards at the front gate.

"They're almost here. At this rate they will have found me in about 20 minutes."

He sat up in his chair and placed his hands against the table, looking at his work.

"These won't be ready in time. It looks like this will have to do for now."

He held up the dark blue chao emerald in front of the light and looked through it like a looking glass. A green aura burned around him as he thought about how excited he was to finally meet with Tails face to face.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Ripping through the robots at the gate was easy for Knuckles. His fists broke so cleanly through them it was almost like punching nothing but air. Blaze melted through the lock on the gate and kicked it open. The three of them hurried up to the front door where Knuckles ran ahead of them and used his fists to knock it down. They ran over the toppled door and hurried onward. They stopped suddenly when the hallway before them branched out in multiple directions.

"There are too many passages" Blaze complained "We don't have time to search them all."

"We'll just have to split up" Knuckles noted "They all have to meet somewhere."

They each chose a different path and continued their journey. Knuckles took the one in the middle and ran down the corridor. He was in such a hurry that he failed to notice a panel in the floor open up before him. He lost his footing and fell down a chute that seemed to go on forever. He toppled down the slide, being thrown around by its turns until it finally deposited him into a dark room. He landed on his tailbone and winced as he made contact.

There was just enough light in the room to see the walls and floor around him. Before he could complain about his bruise, he noticed a doorway on the far side of the large room. He stood up and started to make his way over when he saw a red substance slip through the opening. The liquid formed itself back into Cataclysm as it looked blankly at Knuckles.

"You again?" he cried "I don't know what they've done to you Chaos, but I have to stop Nega, so let me through."

Knuckles started towards him when he watched the face of the monster contort into something reptilian and breathe flames. Knuckles rolled to the side and dodged the fire, watching the monster as his face changed back to normal.

"I don't think this is Chaos I'm dealing with here."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tails hurried to the end of his corridor when he came to an open room. It was filled with various vehicles and robots that were inactive. He noticed several of the other passages led here as well and pondered where the others could be.

"They might've fallen into a trap" he thought "If I hurry up and stop Nega then I can make him stop all this madness."

Tails ran up a flight of stairs across the room and entered a new room with many computers. A large computer caught his attention that had a hooded figure sitting beneath it at a table.

"We finally meet" the figure cooed.

"You're not Eggman Nega" Tails began to worry "Who are you?"

The figure turned and removed his hood, revealing a fox that looked just like Tails. He had neon green fur and a large scar across his face. He flashed a cocky smile at the orange fox.

"I'm Glaron; you're darker half."


	7. The Fruition of Nega's Revenge

_**Chapter 7: The Fruition of Nega's Revenge**_

Blaze hurried down her corridor; her heart pounding at the thought of what was waiting for her. To her dismay she ran into a dead end. She yelled out loud at the thought of having wasted this precious time. Before she turned around she noticed a keypad on the wall that was painted white like the corridor. Had she acted hastily, she would've missed it completely.

"It's a good thing I didn't get too hot headed" she thought.

The idea of even trying to find the code was foreign to her. She held her hand up and burned through the pad with her fire, overloading the circuits in the door and causing a minor explosion. The secret door sat cockeyed on its hinges from the eruption and Blaze broke through it with ease. She ran into the dark corridor before her and followed it down a flight of stairs into a laboratory. It was completely dark aside from a few capsules with lights beneath them. She tried not to look in the pods directly out of fear that she may see something horrific.

Just then a lamp turned on above a table across the room. There were various papers and tools lining it with a familiar scientist sitting at the other end of it. He was turned away, lost in thought.

"Oh, it's you Blaze" Nega broke the silence "I was wondering which one of you three would get here first."

"Enough games" she spat "Where is Sonic and what are you doing in this dimension?"

"Patience little kitty, patience"

She growled at the sound of those words.

"Sonic is just fine, but first let's talk business. I'll tell you why I've come here."

Blaze eased her anxiety a bit and folded her arms, watching him closely for any suspicious moves.

"For starters, Eggman and I have been keeping in touch since the first time I came to this world. We were planning a follow up attack on you and all your little friends but we never got the chance."

"How so?" Blaze inquired.

"About a year ago Eggman was telling me all about this new invention he had created. It had something to do with the chaos emeralds but he didn't reveal much more than that. I figure he wanted to wait until he gave them a field test before he got too excited. After that I heard nothing from him for months. It was then that I decided I needed to visit him personally. Stealing the Sol emeralds from you was just as easy as it was before; you really need to consider an insurance policy."

"Get on with it!"

"When I arrived I found his base was in shambles and he was nowhere to be found. I searched the rubble for some time when I discovered a few tattered papers about his final work. He had invented a set of chaos emeralds that were evil. Instead of having a positive and negative energy, they contained a double negative energy which he used to fuel his intentions. With that kind of power, how could be stopped?"

He breathed a sigh and stood up, still facing the other direction.

"I researched this for days but unable to turn up any leads. I had to face the fact that Eggman was gone. Someone as intelligent as him would be able to quickly rebuild his forces, provided he was alive. Something had to have killed him and I wouldn't rest until I learned who it was. A met a new friend, so to speak, when I returned to his ruined home and he filled in the rest."

There was an eerie pause between his words.

"The one responsible for ending Eggman's life…was your friend Sonic the Hedgehog."

"What? That's ridiculous, Sonic would never…"

She felt two gloved hands wrap around her throat and limit the air she could intake. The attacker lifted her from her feet and dangled her before Nega, writhing and kicking in panic. Eggman Nega turned around and walked up to Blaze beneath the dim light above the table.

"I made him a makeshift grave but it did not fill the void in my chest. I vowed my revenge on Sonic and would make him pay dearly for what he has done. But it's not through death I would avenge my friend; no, there are far worse things than your own death in this world."

He reached up and clicked off the light, darkening the room to nothing but the light from the door above the stairs. Nega walked over to it, his words echoing behind him as he locked Blaze in the laboratory with her assailant. 

"The Sol emeralds will be put to good use, so don't you worry."

The room was so dark that it was impossible to see anything. The figure's grip tightened and she could see stars crying out to her in the blackness. She squirmed within his arms until finally swinging an elbow into his gut. The attacker broke his hold and Blaze took a second to suck in all the air she could. She clasped her throat and tried to ease her anxiety as she felt her arm is grabbed. She blasted the assassin with a fireball and watched him dance away in pain.

In the temporary light she wasn't able to see his face and worried about what he looked like. Enemies were always scarier in the dark; it reminded her of when she was a little girl again. It was part of the reason she yearned to learn to control fire so badly, to control the darkness around her.

She set fire to several things around her: tables, chairs, and even one of the capsules. The flames gave the room some light but not enough to find her attacker. She looked about frantically until she looked up, watching him stand on a piping fixture on the ceiling. He dropped down with a kick and the speed of a hawk in the night but missed as Blaze tumbled out of the way. He managed to break a small hole in the floor as he fell into the light of the flames.

As he stood up, his figure was made whole again. Blaze shrieked as she looked upon the face of her friend Sonic.


	8. Glaron's Moment of Redemption

_**Chapter 8: Glaron's Moment of Redemption**_

"Darker half?" asked Tails "You can't be serious."

"Oh but I am" Glaron chimed "I know all about you. I know about how you compare yourself to Sonic, how you envy his talents. He's the star of the show and you're efforts never made the final difference when you fought Eggman."

Tails' face contorted with confusion and fear. The things he was saying, while he didn't want to admit it, were his deepest, darkest feelings.

"You wish you had brute strength like Knuckles so no one could ever pick on you. At times you even wish you were like Eggman because even he found a way to be so strong he nearly ended Sonic's life. You're intelligence is formidable yes, but without your machines you would be nothing. I know everything my little friend."

"How…how can this be possible? I've never breathed a word about any of this."

"Like I said, I _am_ your darker half. Let me back up several years."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was a stormy night in the middle of summer. Tails had built a communicator to keep in touch with distant animals in case of emergencies. He picked up a signal from a small village near Volcano Valley. There were well known for their mining efforts when one of the shafts collapsed on some of the workers. There wouldn't be enough oxygen in the cave to last many more hours so finding help was out of the question. Tails knew it was up to him to rescue his friends.

He boarded the Tornado 2 and despite his fear of lightning he took to the sky. The storm was savage and the rain was heavy as he fought the elements. He realized just how foolish it was to not have constructed a pane of glass to cover the cockpit. He shivered under the rain as he increased the speed of the Tornado. He still had to pilot the plane above a jungle before he would reach the valley.

In a moment of foolishness he wanted to test the communications with them again and extended an antenna on the tail of the plane. There was quite a bit of hiss in the radio so he reached back to wiggle the antenna when a bolt of lightning suddenly struck the tip of the antenna! A surge of electricity flew through Tails' body as he drifted unconscious. He could feel his body jitter and contort as he fell from the Tornado and landed in the jungle below. The unmanned plane crashed into the flora below with a small fire erupting in the engine.

While Tails lay asleep in a pile of leafy plants, his body felt lighter as a black excrement was cast away from his being and into the forest floor. It took on the form of a green fox as it ran away into the dark night, angry at the scar he suffered across his face.

The next morning came and Tails found himself in a bed. The animals saw the smoke from his plane and brought him in to their care. They had brought in the Tornado and repaired it as well having used the drill function on it to rescue the trapped workers. Even though Tails wasn't there to personally liberate the animals, he still had a hand in saving them and for that, they were grateful.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"You see" Glaron continued "That bolt of lightning scarred my face forever. If it wasn't for that one foolish action I would not be disfigured so."

"Maybe so but my mistake is what gave you your life; your freedom. How could you hate me for that?"

"Oh there is always room for hate in this heart. I will never respect someone as weak as you are. I loathe the idea that I came from your being. I would have rather not existed at all than to have once been a part of you."

Tails was awestruck by his words. Never in his life had he encountered such a bitter and hateful enemy. He really was something dark and the scariest part was that Tails knew Glaron was a part of himself. Such a reflection was a one in a million instance.

"Can't we just forget all of this? There's always a chance to change your ways."

"I refuse!"

Glaron slammed his fist on the desk.

"I want you dead no matter the cost! This is the reason I was born from you!"

He lifted up the dark blue chaos emerald above his head and a large black portal opened above them. A thick gravity pulled at Tails' body and dragged him into the hole while Glaron drifted in with a smirk on his face. Tails landed on his stomach and sat up with a tear in his eye. The world around him was completely black and without sound. It was so empty he could feel his eyes desperately looking for an object to lock on to when it saw Glaron.

He drifted down through the space and landed on his feet. He smirked at Tails appearing as though he was about to froth at the mouth.

"Welcome to the Negative Dimension; do you like it?"

"Lovely" groaned Tails as he stood on his feet.

The air felt thick and heavy around him. He wasn't built for conditions like this.

"Like the name implies, this world amplifies negative energies so this is my home field advantage. I suggest you get used to the sight because this place will be your grave."

Tails was scared, more scared than he had ever been in his entire life. He felt his legs tremble as he stood, almost ready to buckle at any moment, but he thought of Sonic and how strong he was. He knew he had to be brave no matter the situation.

"Just try it!" he shouted.

Glaron held up the chaos emerald and several balls of energy shot out from it. Tails flew up above them and dodged them as they tried to pursue him. They veered off course and disappeared in the blackness behind him. Glaron waved the emerald in a circle and a circle of energy spheres rushed at Tails. He touched down for a moment and leaped through them like a hurdle. He smirked back at Glaron who simply pointed behind Tails.

The yellow fox turned around to see the circle of energy return and form a circle around where he was standing. Before he could move out of the way, they snared him with a tight grip. Tails writhed within the necklace of spheres as they started to burn his skin. He used the excitement to flex all the muscles in his body and break loose, flying up above them as they all crashed together!

He panted in the air trying to collect his self when he noticed Glaron launch another assault of energy spheres. Tails flew away quickly, desperately trying to outrun the attack when the balls broke down into smaller ones easily twice in number. Their speed was great and one of them collided with Tails in the face! In that brief moment he was stunned his body was assaulted by the remaining spheres in a large combination of attacks! Tails drifted to the floor, wounded and weak.

Glaron approached him, launching more energy spheres and harming the poor fox while he was done.

"I want you to suffer! You need to understand just how miserable you really are!"

He stopped the attack as he stood before Tails. The yellow fox was lying on his stomach, almost unable to look up at Glaron.

"This is the end I'm afraid. I came from you and yet I am superior in all ways. There isn't enough room for the both of us in any of these worlds so this will be your last minute to live. Anything in particular you want to say?"

"I admit I'm weak, but I'm not a coward who's afraid of peace!"

Glaron sent a bolt of electricity from the emerald into Tails' body, shocking the poor fox into an unconscious state. Glaron laughed aloud at the long awaited victory he had been dreaming of. He opened a portal that led back into the work room he and Tails were just in. He stepped out and looked at Tails as the portal slowly closed behind him.

"No one will ever know how you disappeared except for me and that will be my justice. You were too young to use the chaos emeralds and I no longer have use for this one."

He tossed the dark blue gem back into the rift and watched the final seconds of the portal's closing.

"So long, failure."


	9. The Fighting Is Interrupted

Looks like things are getting messy and in a hurry! If anyone spots any errors in the story, feel free to let me know. I want to make sure all the details are pristine! =)

_**Chapter 9: The Fighting Is Interrupted**_

The monster's face grew large and its jaws expanded several inches. It charged Knuckles with its large teeth and attempted to devour the echidna! The red hero jumped above the creature and launched a fist down into his back, breaking him into several liquid orbs. The spheres hurried away to the corner of the dark room and reformed into Cataclysm. He once again readied his large jaws but this time chewed away a hole in the floor and disappeared into the blackness.

Knuckles tried to stay moving as he watched as many angles as he could. He had no idea where the beast would spring forth from and he had to be as ready as possible. The floor started to quake beneath him and Cataclysm sprung up quickly, catching Knuckles in his large mouth! The echidna's reactions were fast and he grabbed both sides of his mouth, hanging above the wild tongue of the creature!

The hungry tentacle grabbed Knuckles by the leg and tried to pull him into the death trap. He used his free leg to kick the inside of the beast's mouth, knocking him over and allowing Knuckles a small second to jump loose from Cataclysm's jaws.

"I've been through too much to be eaten" he thought "This creature is something crazy! I'll have to expect the unexpected if I'm gonna stay one step ahead."

Cataclysm stood back up and reformed its face back to normal. This time it drew its legs into its torso and created wings on its back! It grew large claws on its hands and took to the air, flying around the room with great speed. It nosedived at Knuckles with its claw ready but missed as Knuckles dodged it. The beast was swift and as soon as he touched the ground used its free hand to propel itself in Knuckles' direction once more!

Our red hero was caught off guard and suffered a heavy slash across his right arm. He tumbled across the room and held his wound as it began to weep. He braced himself as Cataclysm circled around for his next attack. With both claws outstretched, he lunged for the echidna's throat! Knuckles waited until the last moment and crouched down, delivering an uppercut at just the right time, square on the chin of Cataclysm!

The beast exploded into pieces once more but Knuckles was wary of its trick. As Cataclysm started to reform Knuckles went on the attack, thrashing and smashing at all the misshapen pieces of the monster, trying to destroy him. The gel like pieces splattered across the dark room after Knuckles attacks. Each piece squirmed and formed a different limb that all tried to assault Knuckles!

The red brawler was ready for the onslaught and stomped out each arm, leg, and head that came in his direction with ease. The liquid finally retreated and pooled together across the room back to its original body. Knuckles panted from all the effort he had used and had forgot about the wound he acquired earlier. The wound was seeping more than before and started to ache a little harder. Cataclysm's body also appeared to be suffering as it had difficulty trying to stay completely reformed.

Before another move could be made, the red monster suddenly perked up like a dog that had just seen a cat. It liquefied itself once more and rushed out of the room. Knuckles watched it leave; perplexed at what could've interrupted their fight. Before he could ponder this further, he saw a red light illuminate the room and a siren echo in his ears.

"PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY" droned a computerized voice.

_**-Elsewhere-**_

"Sonic? But there's no way!"

Sonic stared at her with yellow eyes that lacked pupils. His skin had changed to a deep blue that was so dark it almost appeared black. Blaze could see glimpses of a device in his back but couldn't make out any more than that. The Sonic she was seeing was no longer her friend; now he was Dark Sonic.

Before she could roll the thoughts over in her head anymore, the hedgehog launched his attack at her once more. He readied a fist and charged her; Blaze was still stunned at what she saw and took the attack with full force. She toppled backwards into a capsule, denting it in from the impact. As she tried to stand up she felt his hand grab her collar and the other begin to pound away at her face.

"Stop it!" she screamed.

She stopped his fist with her hand and used her free elbow to strike him in the face. He stumbled backwards and she continued her combo with a fireball that knocked him back into the table behind him.

"Stop Sonic, just stop" she begged "You can't let Nega do this to you!"

There was no reasoning with the animatronic hedgehog. He had been programmed to follow orders and the only order was a simple one: to kill. He leaped in front of her and planted a foot in her gut, kicking her up into the ceiling. With the same lightning speed he jumped up onto the lighting fixture and grabbed her arm, using the force to slam her back down into the floor.

Her body bounced against the tough concrete and she screamed as a few droplets of blood forced themselves out from her lungs. Dark Sonic landed on the ground beside her; he crouched down and lifted her up, taking a moment to stare into her eyes; as if he was looking for something. Whatever that something he was, he never saw for he readied his fist for more punishment.

Before he could unleash another volley of punches, a red dot began to blink behind his head. The room was so dark that Blaze didn't notice the receiver that was attached to the back of his head. Dark Sonic released Blaze and left her to lie on the floor as he suddenly ran up the stairs and broke out of the room. Blaze sat up slowly and wiped her mouth off on her sleeve. She scolded herself several times for having been defeated so easily, but this was for a different reason entirely.

As she pondered the recent occurrences, the room became completely illuminated by two red lights on the ceiling. A computerized voice echoed to her from the loudspeaker.

"PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY"


	10. The Evil Empire Collapses

_**Chapter 10: The Evil Empire Collapses**_

_**-As The Battles Were Happening…-**_

Eggman Nega exited the laboratory and locked the door behind him. He walked through several rooms to enter the computer room where Glaron had been working to see the fox himself exit a black portal.

"I take it you have come to terms with your hatred for Tails?" he smirked.

"Yes, yes I have" he jeered to himself.

"As we speak Sonic is no longer the hero everyone loved him as. My mechanism is fully functional and will keep his brain honed in on extracting my revenge for me. What better way to bring him the ultimate suffering than to make him create his own Hell!"

Nega sat down in a chair and tossed his blueprints for Dark Sonic up into the air. He laughed and fidgeted like a child as he imagined the madness that was going on downstairs. Glaron chuckled along with him as he sat down before seven gray gems. A machine was attached to the green chaos emerald and the green Sol emerald. Following a trail of wires was an empty capsule which he placed one of the evil chaos emeralds inside.

"Eggman was a genius" thought Glaron "But he made one fatal flaw in the design of his emeralds. He created artificial double negative energy and pseudo is never as good as the real thing."

The machine whirred and buzzed for a few minutes before it finished its cycle. The evil emerald had a brighter glow to it while the two green emeralds had a duller appearance than before. He touched up a few more details before interrupting Nega's insane chuckling.

"At last" he stood up, taking in the sight of the creation "The evil chaos emeralds are complete!"

He scooped them up and stared at them in his arms, marveling at the luster of the powerful gems. He turned to Nega with a wide grin on his face.

"I really must thank you doctor" he gleamed "Without your assistance these emeralds would have been lost forever."

Eggman Nega grinned at Glaron, basking in the excellence of his intelligence. Glaron laid the emeralds back on the table and took one in his hand. He looked at Nega and smiled, firing off a blast from the crystal! Nega was caught completely off guard and fell over in his chair, watching as the beam crashed into the wall and exploded. Without giving it another thought, he frantically looked for a whistle that was hanging from his neck and blew it as hard as he could.

The sound squealed through the air and in moments both Cataclysm and Dark Sonic were standing before him. Nega growled as he got back to his feet, staring intensely at Glaron.

"I don't know what the hell you're thinking" he spat "But that was a deadly mistake."

"Now that Tails is dead and the evil chaos emeralds are complete, our alliance has been fulfilled. You have your revenge on Sonic and so there is nothing left to gain by our cooperation."

"You damned little traitor; I found the schematics for those emeralds, built them and brought you the chaos and Sol emeralds. I've done all the work and those are _my _inventions!"

"You really are as oblivious as Eggman; using you was _so_ easy! If I had let you finish these gems then you would have made them with the same flaws he did. It was my final touches that saved these emeralds from being destroyed like the last set was!"

Glaron released a green aura into the gems and they began to circle his body. He then fired off several volleys of blasts at Nega and his minions. Dark Sonic grabbed Nega and covered him while Cataclysm stretched his body in various directions to absorb the blows. He even used his large jaws to swallow some of the energy and repair his body from the fight with Knuckles. Cataclysm then blasted a wave of fire back at Glaron, covering him completely! When the flames dispersed, Glaron stood there intact with a green shield protecting him. He dropped the defense to stare Nega down once more.

"You've trained your subordinates well" he laughed "Killing you will be more difficult than I'd thought."

Nega knew Sonic and Cataclysm would not be able to defeat Glaron in his state and was forced to make a desperate move.

"So killing me is the only way to protect your precious emeralds?"

"Something like that" Glaron boasted "I have the ultimate power at my disposal and you are the last person who knows how to create them. I have to erase all evidence of them so I will never be contested again."

Glaron pulled a small blinking device out from under his cloak. When he pressed the red button a red light illuminated the entire room and a computerized voice was heard.

"PLEASE EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY, THIS IS NOT A DRILL; I REPEAT, THIS IS NOT A DRILL."

"Like I said _all _evidence"

"You're insane!" screamed Eggman Nega.

"On the contrary, I'm…"

Before Glaron could finish his sentence, Cataclysm sprung forth and encased Glaron and the evil chaos emeralds with his body.

"What?"

Glaron started blasting at Cataclysm's barrier with the emeralds. Nega used this free moment to run over to the table and scoop up all of the emeralds. With the seven Sol emeralds and six chaos emeralds in his arms, he desperately ran out of the room and into another with many escape vehicles. Dark Sonic guarded the door as Nega loaded all the gems into an egg-o-matic and started the engine. Before he climbed in himself, he ran over to a glass case with the master emerald in it and punched through it with his gloved hand. Shards of glass scattered in all direction as his knuckles started to bleed. When the pain set in he scolded his self for not using the control panel but knew this wasn't the time for complaining. He wasn't sure how much time he would have before Glaron broke free of Cataclysm's hold.

He lifted the large green emerald and was surprised at how heavy it was. It had to weigh 40 pounds easily. He carried it over to the egg-o-matic placed it in the cockpit leaving just enough room for him to squeeze into the driver's seat beside it. Even though he had selected one of the larger vehicles he made a mental note to accommodate for situations like this in the future.

Glaron was firing so violently at the red beast that his body was beginning to wear thin.

"Enough!" screamed Glaron as his body radiated with energy.

Cataclysm's body exploded and pieces of red goop flew all across the room! The bits of gel squirmed in place and they all came together near Dark Sonic but were having trouble reforming. Glaron stared down Dark Sonic as he watched Cataclysm only be able to reform about half of his body. The fox fired a beam at them but Sonic was much too fast. He grabbed Cataclysm's hand and ran with him to Nega's machine. He threw the red beast inside and watched as the rest of the gel squirmed into the cockpit behind Nega.

Hanging onto the side with one hand, the hedgehog slapped the machine to signal they were ready. Eggman Nega floored the gas pedal and they raced out through the glass window in the ceiling! They covered their heads as they broke through, looking back at Glaron who was still cursing their names.

"Damn you Nega!" he screamed "If Sonic's friends don't kill you first then I will!"

He readied a large orb of energy and cast it in their direction. Sonic was ready and stood up on the back of the egg-o-matic. He performed a spin kick that deflected the blast back at Glaron and destroyed the entire room they were just in! The fleeing villains couldn't see Glaron as he opened a dark portal and escaped from the impact. Assuming the worst, Eggman Nega increased their speed as they made their desperate escape, their partnership with Glaron completely erased.


	11. Trying To Keep It All Together

_**Chapter 11: Trying To Keep It All Together**_

Without giving it a further thought, he raced through the doorway and several other rooms before entering a large room with computers. It was difficult to understand his surroundings because of the bright red warning light and the piercing sound of the evacuation buzzer. He looked around for a way out when he saw a large opening in the wall that led to nowhere. The opening was covered in flames and a strong sulfuric wind blew in through the hole. There was no one to be found; no Nega, no Tails, no Blaze, nobody.

"I just missed something big" he thought "Something really bad has happened, I can feel it. I need to find the others before anything else."

As if to answer his prayers he saw Blaze kick out a broken door beside him.

"Blaze!"

"Knuckles, good timing, we've got to get the hell out of here."

"Yeah but I haven't seen Tails anywhere, we can't leave him here to die"

The two of them searched the room as quickly as they could. They looked in the neighboring rooms and shuffled through some debris, all the while calling his name in hopes that some sign of him would show up. They reconvened in the computer room after a few minutes to note the other's progress. As they did, a large piece of the ceiling collapsed near them, nearly crushing them beneath its weight.

"There's nothing more we can do" Blaze noted "If we stay here we're going to be killed!"

"I know but I can't just leave Tails! What good is saving Sonic if one of us has to die?"

In that silent moment of conflicting philosophies, another pieces of the roof started to give.

"Come on!" screamed Blaze as she grabbed Knuckles' hand.

She pulled him along through an open doorway and the two ran for their lives. They hurried through various rooms before emerging into the hallway they originally entered. They followed the passage out the front gate and leapt away from the hill. Blaze used her fire to keep her from falling and Knuckles used his ability to glide. Despite how they had hurried, they weren't fast enough to dodge the explosion. The fortress behind them ruptured open with a ball of smoke and flame crashing into them from behind. The force of the wave pushed them both down into the rocky ground as the flames flew back up skyward.

The two sat up and stared at the base, watching the last moments of its detonation. Little did they release the trouble they would run into when they first stared up at the base and little did they know just what had happened to their friend Tails.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The hike back to Tails' workshop was long and laborious. Not only had both the heroes acquired some heavy burns, they both had minor injuries from their battles: Knuckles with the gash on his arm and Blaze with bruises on her head and neck. They made frequent stops during their journey to rest and catch up on what happened inside the base. As they walked down the first mountain outside of the Lava Reef Zone, they decided it was time for one of those breaks.

"Did you catch up with Nega?" asked Knuckles.

"Yeah and he's really got it in for Sonic. Apparently Eggman created these things called the evil chaos emeralds and he was using them to fight Sonic."

Knuckles sat down on a boulder across from Blaze. He took a moment to look at the pale mountainside that had various plants around it like some kind of balding man.

"I remember; those stupid emeralds, they've caused us so much trouble already. I'd imagine Nega has something like that already built to give us more Hell."

"Probably but things go deeper than just the emeralds. Things must've gotten bad for Sonic because if Nega's story is true then that means Sonic killed Eggman."

Knuckles wasn't ready for those words.

"Sonic talked about killing Eggman before he left to fight him that day. He sounded really grave about the entire situation but I didn't expect him to really go through with it. The poor guy, he must be riddled with guilt over it. When we rescue him I need to let him know that I support what he did, I mean, he did it for all of us; for our well-being."

"That's the thing Knuckles, I fought a strange beast inside that base. I don't know what Nega did, but he found a way to control Sonic and he wants to make him kill all of us."

Knuckles felt the second hit from the combo in her words. He wasn't sure if he could handle a third.

"There's no way, Sonic's too strong for that."

"Like you said, he must have been tossing that guilt over in his mind this whole time and wasn't ready to fend off some kind of mind control."

"First Sonic and now Tails" Knuckles had to brush a tear from his eye "Our team is really falling apart. For all we know they could both be dead."

Blaze walked over to him and gave hugged him around his neck.

"We can't lose hope Knuckles. It's gotten us this far and without it we may die ourselves."

Knuckles was moved by her words. He stood up and tried to shake the doubts from his head. He smiled at her and nodded.

"Let's get going, we still have a ways to go."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Elsewhere, a flying vehicle was strangely quiet. Nega was piloting the ship as his own thoughts rolled around in his head.

"Glaron has become so powerful. Right now neither Sonic nor Cataclysm could handle him if he found out where we're going. I'll have to take us somewhere secluded until I can decide what we'll do next."

He adjusted the route on his display to a cliff side near the ocean.

"It's so infuriating" he grumbled "I should have known that he wasn't the type to be trusted but at least my quick thinking allowed me to get the last laugh."

He looked over at the master emerald beside him and smirked to his self. Dark Sonic held onto the side of the machine, looking forward and not making a sound. Cataclysm, on the other hand, wasn't doing so well. His body had only partly recovered since they fled Glaron's base. The liquid in his body began to quiver as a maddening urge overcame his mind. Feverishly he began to devour the chaos emeralds as fast as he could get his hands on them.

His jostling was shaking the egg-o-matic and caught the attention of the others.

"Cataclysm, what are you…?"

Nega turned around to see the beast swallowing the chaos emeralds whole.

"No you fool! Stop that!" screamed Nega.

The commotion caught Dark Sonic's attention who climbed in beside Cataclysm and tried to stop the creature. The red monster would have no interference and slapped Sonic away who stumbled over the side of the vehicle and grabbed on with one of his hands. Nega turned around and reached desperately inside the creature's gooey body, trying to grab the gems. In his haste, Nega had released his grip on the controls and the ship began to teeter and dip down from the sky.

Cataclysm stretched out several spikes from his body and stabbed Nega in his injured hand. The doctor wailed as he remembered the controls and turned back around to command them. Dark Sonic climbed back up and as he readied himself to challenge the beast it fled from the vehicle and leaped into the city below.

"No, Cataclysm!" the doctor screamed.

He watched the beast as it morphed into various things as it fell towards the ground. Nega looked up to see several television cameras had been watching them struggle with one another and turned away in anger. He piloted the machine away from the city as quickly as he could, leaving Cataclysm to be the responsibility of Station Square.


	12. Waking Up

Sorry for the lack of updates for a while there. I was sick and it wasn't easy to keep writing chapters.

_**Chapter 12: Waking Up**_

It felt like many years to Tails as he lay unconscious in the Negative Dimension. His mind wandered to many strange places in his dream, some that were so frightening it made him squirm in his sleep. It was several hours before he awoke, his eyelids fluttering as he came back into reality. He sat up slowly, noting the ache in his body, and it was that same ache that reminded him of everything that had happened.

Glaron assumed that Tails was dead but little did he realize that in his haste to finish his revenge he had left it incomplete. Tails merely fell unconscious and survived the attacks from his darker side. He looked around the dimension and saw nothing but darkness, the same as before. For the first time in his life the yellow fox began to feel fear; raw fear. He saw how Glaron opened that portal and knew it was the only way out. Tails didn't have any kind of power, nothing that could help him in this situation. It was just like Glaron had said.

The young boy began to weep. He was only about seven years old and yet he felt so much weight being pressed down on him.

"This must be how Sonic feels when he has to take on Eggman" he thought.

He began to sob, brushing away tears from his furry cheeks as he worried about what he could do. In his sadness he failed to notice the dark blue chaos emerald sitting across from him. The emerald was a bit dull compared to its usual luster, having been drained of its negative energy by Glaron. However this did not stop the emerald from activating its power. A blue mist rose from within the gem and started to take on the form of a sage.

This caught Tails' attention and he turned to face the figure as it took on a solid form. It was an elderly echidna who wore a dark blue robe and held an oak staff that appeared before Tails.

"Do not cry, my child" he said in a patient tone "You have lost nothing."

"Who are you?" Tails asked, feeling a little better from what he said.

"I am Argon" the elderly man said "I am one of the seven guardians of the chaos emeralds."

"But why were you inside the emerald?"

"It is a curse we must all endure. We chose this fate and to protect them we must be with them at all times."

Tails stood up and moved closer to him, feeling that he could place some trust in the old man's words.

"There is a reason I am here. The one named Glaron has found a way to use energies from the chaos emeralds for evil purposes. He must be stopped no matter the cost."

"I know, I know" Tails fussed "But what can I do to help? I'm stuck in this place!"

Argon pointed his staff at Tails.

"You are the one who can defeat him; you and only you. There is a technique to travel across dimensions using the power of a chaos emerald; and that technique I shall teach you."

"That's great" smiled Tails "I'll do whatever I can to become stronger and stop that menace!"

"What you have in courage you lack in strength."

"I don't understand. I thought I was the only one who can stop him."

"You are brave, yes, but you are too young to harness the power of the chaos emeralds. It takes a set of more powerful gems such as the super emeralds to yield even the littlest results."

"What should we do then? It doesn't sound like I have a lot of options."

"I will train you" Argon announced "You will become stronger and be able to realize your power in the chaos emeralds just like your friend Sonic."

"Sonic…"

Tails thought back on the reason why he even went on this adventure in the first place; he wanted to help rescue Sonic. All these years he'd been hiding behind his machines and hoping Sonic would come through to save the day. Now everything had changed. Who know what could've happened to Sonic or any of the others if that maniac Glaron was waiting for them. This was Tails moment to shine, this was his chance to protect everyone and he was ready for it.

"Alright" he concluded "I'm ready anytime you are Argon."

"Slow down there" Argon chuckled "The world wasn't built in a day. To become strong enough to master this technique it will take you three years."

"Three years?" Tails cried "But everyone needs my help now! I can't leave them alone with Glaron out there!"

"Take it easy. Time moves much more slowly out there. One day in here is equal to one minute in the real world so we have plenty of time."

"Ok then, I'll do whatever it takes."

"Good lad"

Argon waved his staff in the air, readying his old spirit to conjure a magic spell it hasn't used in ages.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

It was several hours before Blaze and Knuckles made it back to Tails' workshop. They helped each other up the final few steps as they approached the front door. Giving it a knock, they were greeted by a familiar bunny at the door, whose face exploded with surprise.

"Oh my god!" she wailed "You two look terrible!"

"You don't look so great yourself" Knuckles spat.

Blaze chuckled at them.

"Well we've been through a lot."

They both made their way over to the nearest chairs and crashed for the moment.

"Where's Tails?" asked Amy as she entered the room.

Blaze and Knuckles looked at each other.

"Things got really hairy at the end" Knuckles noted "Saying I don't know would be optimistic."

"Oh…" Cream's expression wilted.

"I'm sure he's fine" chimed Amy, trying to keep their spirits high "Let's get you two taken care of."

Cream and Amy rummaged through a storage cabinet in Tails' room and found some blue potions like the one he'd taken with him earlier. They sprayed them on Blaze and Knuckles and their wounds began to heal within minutes.

"That's incredible!" Blaze cheered "Tails is a genius!"

"I feel like a million bucks" Knuckles commented, flexing his muscles.

Amy laughed at him.

"Cream showed me some of the things they were working on. It was still a prototype so we were hoping things would work out."

"Still a prototype?" cried Knuckles "Nice to know you value us as guinea pigs!"

"I guess you didn't get a chance to use it when you went to Eggman Nega's base?"

"Not quite" Blaze added "We ended up in a hallway that split off in multiple directions; we didn't have a choice but to go separate ways."

Cream had been listening silently, her face still showing how heavy her heart felt. Amy's smile drooped when she saw her and went over to console the bunny.

"Let's leave them alone" said Blaze, motioning Knuckles into the other room.

They walked into the other room and turned on the television. As if by pure coincidence the news was reporting over the local shows, showing footage that was captured from Eggman Nega's struggle with Cataclysm. The two animals sat up in their chairs in surprise and turned up the volume.

"Earlier today a small vehicle was spotted maneuvering through the air when all of a sudden the people inside began fighting. One of them, a strange red creature, leaped down from the side of the air craft and grew into a frightening monster that you see images of now."

"That's Station Square!" Knuckles screamed.

"And that's Eggman Nega!" Blaze yelled in return "He's heading for the cliffs!"

"No time to waste, let's go!"

The two of them hurried to the front door when they were stopped by Amy.

"Where are you guys going? You just got back!"

"Eggman Nega was spotted in Station Square and we have to get to him before he gets to us!" Blaze commented.

The two heroes hurried out the door leaving Amy behind with a depressed Cream. Amy sighed to herself before going back to Cream's side.

"I wish things were simple again."


	13. Another Rivalry Is Ended

This is a long one folks.

_**Chapter 13: Another Rivalry Is Ended**_

Blaze and Knuckles hit the path in their pursuit of Eggman Nega.

"Knuckles you go to Station Square and stop that creature from doing anything dangerous. I'm going to the cliffs to confront Nega."

"But Sonic is with him, it's two against one."

"Trust me, the way I'm feeling right now even Sonic wouldn't dare mess with me. Nega made this personal and I'm going to stop him no matter the cost."

Knuckles felt a bit rattled at her words. She was deadly serious; like Sonic was before his last fight with Eggman.

"Ok, just be careful. You've got friends waiting for you ya know."

She smiled at him and nodded. The two of them parted ways; Knuckles taking the beaten path to Station Square and Blaze cutting through the valley to where the ocean began.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The closer Blaze got to the cliffs the harder her heart started to beat. When she finally caught up to Nega, what would she do? Was she willing to go as far as Sonic did to end this madness? She smelled salt in the air as she approached the ocean; spying a small vehicle floating in the air.

"It's him"

She ran even faster to catch up to him. When she was below the aircraft Dark Sonic turned and saw her. He leapt down from the egg-o-matic to try and attack the angry cat but was knocked away by a flaming kick. The commotion caught Nega's attention and turned around just in time to see a cat shrouded in flames crash into the back of his egg-o-matic!

Eggman Nega and all of his emeralds were tossed through the air and landed about a hundred feet from the edge of the cliff. Blaze quickly snatched up all of the Sol emeralds and faced Nega as he stood up slowly. He had been caught off guard and it cost him dearly. Dark Sonic collected himself and charged Blaze.

"Stop Sonic!" the doctor howled.

Dark Sonic stopped in his tracks and looked at the angry scientist.

"This is my fight and I don't want you interfering. I want you to go and kill all of Blaze's friends and start with the strongest. That echidna needs to be dealt with before he shows up here too. I'll meet up with you later."

The hedgehog nodded and stared at Blaze with an angry scowl before turning and running off into the distance. Blaze felt an uneasy feeling wash over her as she was reminded of what Nega had done to him. 

"Why did you do that to him?" she asked the doctor.

"He deserves to feel endless pain for what he did to Eggman. I want him to kill all of his friends and then I will release him from the device so he can see the Hell he created for himself."

"You're one sick bastard" she hissed "I can only imagine what kind of morbid feelings you must have."

"Revenge isn't morbid; it's justice. You can't fathom how easy it is to hate when you lose someone you care about."

"Are you talking about Eggman?"

The doctor stared up at the sky.

"The two of us were supposed to rule both of our dimensions. Together we could've conquered any adversity we faced. But now that dream has been shattered to pieces and I'm the only one left to honor his memory."

"Even if Sonic did kill Eggman, hurting Sonic will not bring him back."

"You think I don't know that? Just imagine for a moment if you met someone who was exactly like you; your closest friend. Eggman was to me what Sonic is to you. Now just imagine if someone killed Sonic, how would you feel?"

"Kinda like I do right now" she clenched her fist "You're killing him alright and I would love nothing more than to smash your face in."

Nega laughed to himself.

"Then we have some kind of understanding then. Let's make this quick because I have a lot to clean up after we're done here."

"Funny, I didn't peg you for the tidy type."

"Well there's quite a mess waiting for me once you're gone. That rat bastard Glaron is next on my list to kill."

"So there was someone else in your fortress. You really have a lot of allies this time."

"I did until everything fell apart."

"Just what was that thing that fell from your aircraft when you were in the city?"

Nega relaxed himself, despite how he teased her he was in no hurry to end this confrontation. He wanted to savor every last moment of his rival's life.

"That was Cataclysm; I modeled him after the beast named Chaos. Unfortunately I didn't have the time to experiment with him like I had wanted. So the final result was more like a prototype. He went haywire during our escape and began consuming all the emeralds he could. I can only imagine what kind of destruction he must be wreaking."

Blaze closed her eyes and tried to hold in her frustration a little longer. Nega had really screwed things up with that IQ of his.

"Be careful Knuckles" she whispered.

"Pardon?" asked the doctor, trying to pry into her feelings.

"I said you need to get ready"

The Sol emeralds began to circle Blaze's body, filling her with power. Her body exploded with energy as her costume changed to a red color and her skin became a pink/red tone.

"This is where it ends"

"Ah yes" he scratched his chin "I figured you were going to say something like that."

He walked over to his downed egg-o-matic and lifted the master emerald from its wreckage. He struggled to lift it and slowly forced it above his head.

"You've never faced an opponent like this!" he shouted.

The entire emerald absorbed into his hands; his being detonated with a neon green light that blinded Blaze. The ocean reflected the glow and made the entire world appear for a moment as though it was the same color. When the illumination subsided, the man that stood before Blaze was not the same. His body was coated with a thick lime colored crystal and his eyes were a beaming yellow. His mortal body had moved to the next level of strength; his outline oozing with a deep energy like a greenhouse of power. When he spoke, it echoed within itself like he was some kind of cyborg.

"Do you see the god that I am? It doesn't matter where your power comes from as long as you have as much of it as possible. Now no one will stop me from earning my justice!"

"You poor fool. You're so twisted from revenge that you're completely lost in there. It's time I put you out of your misery."

Blaze charged Nega and swung a punch at him but it was caught by his hand. He connected with his free hand and launched the cat out over the ocean. He pursued her and struck her over the head with folded hands. She plummeted into the sea, her nostrils inflating with water. Nega kept his assault going by chasing her into the ocean. He grabbed her by the shirt with one hand and pummeled the feline relentlessly.

Blaze was almost helpless against the mad doctor. He had become so strong from the master emerald that it was difficult to challenge him. She readied a blast in her hands and released them both right in his face! He pulled back and groaned from the attack, giving Blaze a moment to escape. She swam back to the surface to take in a fresh gulp of air when she saw the doctor pursue her once more. She coated her feet with fire and stomped down onto his chest as he broke the surface of the water. He groaned like an old man as he fell back under the waves. She chased after him and grabbed him by the collar. She tried to ready her fire on her fists but had no luck; she had forgotten she was underwater.

The doctor smirked and revealed the energy he had been charging in his chest. He fired a beam that made a direct hit on the cat, sending her spinning through the dark waters of the lower ocean! She struggled to regain herself as she hurdled downward into the depths. She fired several balls of energy downward and created enough momentum to push herself back up into the air. The feline panted heavily as she shook the water from her fur.

Nega had been waiting for her and charged her with his shoulder. He knocked her back but she caught herself this time. She coated her fists with energy and fire, a risky combination, and struck the doctor with a right hook and then an uppercut. She reached up and grabbed both sides of his face and set off the makeshift bombs surrounding her hands. The explosion knocked her back but she shook off the pain as she faced Nega. When the smoke cleared she saw that his face had begun to crack. Nega was straining the abilities of the master emerald and its effects were starting to wear off.

Blaze pitched a volley of fireballs at him, damaging the surface of his body with every hit. The emerald continued to shatter and pieces of it fell into the ocean. She charged him and checked his gut with her elbow. She met his chin with her knee and finished her combo with a large blast. The doctor spun backwards and landed in the water. The water lapped up beside him, wiping away bits of the emerald from his body.

"No…not yet…" he muttered.

With a loud growl he flexed all of his muscles, trying to tap into all the energy within the master emerald. The water around him turned green and erupted in a tower of light. The emerald coating on his body became thicker and two horns sprouted from the side of his head. When the light subsided he no longer looked human, but like a devil made of diamond.

He created three circular blades made of emerald and threw them at her. She dodged the first two and slipped through the third. They dropped down into the ocean where Blaze couldn't see them and waited to counterattack. Nega fired two lasers from his eyes and Blaze surrounded her body with fire to deflect them. His body then separated all of its limbs and they flew at Blaze, clinging to her tightly!

His head detached from its torso and bit Blaze on her neck. She screamed feeling paralyzed beneath his grip. The three blades surfaced from the sea and rushed at her from all directions! Within the two seconds she was given, she coated her entire body with energy and then with fire, turning her own body into one large bomb! The heat from the explosion was too hot for her body though and she had several severe burns from the impact.

Nega's limbs had dissolved from the explosion but regenerated on the torso with hundreds of cracks in them. Blaze knew this was her one chance to finish him. She mustered all the fire in her body that she could and released a spiral of fire that was so hot it transformed into magma!

Nega caught on to her attack just before it was too late and fired a blast from his mouth, erupting the energy of the master emerald from deep within his belly. The two attacks collided and fought for control as they forced each other back in intervals. Blaze writhed and screamed; giving every bit of her power into this last ditch effort. The doctor too was feeling the wear and tear of this battle. His body had been corroding the entire time he was using the emerald and he wasn't able to harness the energy for much longer.

The ocean below them started to churn and rustle from the wind of their energies. The sky bloated with dark clouds from the thick heat of the lava and rumbled with thunder. The two of them never broke their gaze on each other as their muscles screamed from the exertion they put on them. Blaze's body started to feel cold, something she had never before experienced. She felt her body start to ease and her power fade when she needed it most.

"Please, not now" she muttered "I'm so close!"

She closed her eyes and in the back of her mind she started to recall everything she had been through. Eggman Nega had stolen the Sol emeralds from her, taken control over Sonic's mind and forced him to fight against his friends. At this very moment any number of her friends could be dead from any one of the crazy villains Nega had joined with. She remembered Cream most of all and how she was so kind to her. The thought of her being killed was too much for the feline to bear.

In that single moment Blaze realized that this world wasn't all sunshine and rainbows. She realized it was kill or be killed.

For a single second Blaze became temporarily insane and her body amplified her attack tenfold! The magma spewed forth as if it raged from an actual volcano and consumed Eggman Nega and his blast! The doctor cried and fidgeted as his face was the first thing to be liquefied from the lava. His entire body was soon to follow as he was erased completely from the battlefield! The magma continued to spew forth and drilled into the side of the cliff, tearing apart the rocky bluff into nothing.

Blaze took in a deep breath and regained her mind as the lava drooped down into the sea. A massive cloud of steam rose from the conflicting elements that warmed her body again. She panted heavily and started to cry, realizing what had just happened when she opened her eyes. The chaotic scene before her was surreal as she saw no trace of Eggman Nega.

She wept uncontrollably, holding her hands against her eyes. She was so tired physically and mentally that it made her feel guilty for what she had just done.

"I'm a killer! A cold blooded killer!"

She shut her eyes and screamed as tears streamed down her face.


	14. Echidna vs Hedgehog

_**Chapter 14: Echidna vs. Hedgehog**_

Knuckles hurried into the city, noting the ominous clouds as he reached the city limits. From this distance he could see smoke and realized something bad was in the works. As he hurried into the maze of skyscrapers he was forced to stop suddenly when his path was blocked by emergency vehicles. Hundreds of police officers and firefighters were scrambling throughout the area, trying to tame the mayhem in whatever way they could.

"No good" he noted "I need to get past these guys."

Instead of trying to fight his way through traffic and civilians Knuckles did what he does best and took to climbing. Using his knuckles swiftly he scaled one of the buildings and popped out on the rooftop. There in the distance he saw a frightening creature. A large red dragon was stomping its way through the city, knocking over buildings and igniting entire streets on fire!

"No way! It looks like that same monster I fought inside Eggman Nega's base but how can I compete with him now? He's way too big."

Knuckles' eyes drift down to the panicked city below, searching for an answer. He noticed a cluster of police officers who were struggling with some kind of perpetrator. He jumped across several rooftops to move in closer to where he could see a blue creature being shot at by the cops.

"Chaos? What's he doing here?"

The beast stretched out his arm and slapped away several officers, using his free hand to lunge for several dull colored gems.

"Is that the chaos emeralds?"

It was like someone flicked a light switch inside of Knuckles' head. Chaos must've detected the disturbance and looked into the affair. When he saw it was a creature like himself causing terror; he took it personally. The only way that Cataclysm could've grown to that size is if he had the chaos emeralds so that must've been the same gems he saw below. Chaos was trying to even the playing field; to challenge the beast on an equal plane.

It seemed to be just the case as Chaos devoured the emeralds he had found.

"There's only six there though" Knuckles commented "How is he supposed to match that beast?"

"The same way I killed Eggman"

Knuckles turned around quickly to see a black hedgehog standing on the other side of the roof.

"Cataclysm has devoured the negative energy from the emeralds. The positive energy was left behind in the gems and since Chaos' intentions are good, he is able to tap into a deeper power."

"Who are you...wait…Sonic…?"

The hedgehog smiled at him.

"I'm trying to explain this to you and you're not listening: typical Knuckles."

"What the hell's happened to you? You don't look right."

"On the contrary, I feel more right than I've ever been. I'm another fantastic invention of Eggman Nega."

Knuckles clenched his fist and growled to himself.

"Nega…"

"Don't get too worked up about him; he's duking it out with Blaze as we speak."

"Then what are you doing here?"

"I've come to kill you of course."

Knuckles felt his belly squirm and fill with an icy fear. This wasn't Sonic he was dealing with right now.

"Sonic snap out of it!"

"Once I kill you I'm going straight for Tails' workshop to take out all the little girls you love to protect so much."

Sonic charged Knuckles with speed so great that it flung the two of them through the air and into a damaged building. They crashed through an unbroken window and landed on a floor filled with desks and office supplies. Dark Sonic pinned Knuckles and started punishing him with heavy punches. The echidna checked Sonic's gut with a hard fist and knocked him away. Knuckles stood up and look at his former friend once more.

"Just stop! I don't want to do this anymore!"

"Well I've wanted to do this for a long time. You think that just because your Knuckles are so hard you can use your head the same way you stubborn bastard!"

Sonic curled into a ball and charged him with a spin dash. Knuckles jumped out of the way and readied his self as the spinning hedgehog came back. Knuckles pulled back his fists and retaliated with one intense punch using both of his hands! Sonic flew backwards and came undone from his ball form; slamming into the wall. Knuckles pursued him and grabbed him by shoulder.

"Knock it off dammit! I'm not like that anymore because I'm going to help you! There's no reason to fight here!"

"Get the hell off me!" the hedgehog clamored.

Sonic used his leg to spin his body upward; his foot connecting with Knuckles' chin in a kicking uppercut. Knuckles slid back and watched the athleticism of the hedgehog. Sonic had used the momentum to plant his feet against the wall above him and dive after Knuckles. The red echidna grabbed Sonic in midair and turned around, body slamming him into the weak floor. The wall under their feet gave in and they plummeted many stories downwards, all the while punching, poking, and pulling at one another.

They crashed through to the basement of the building. Sonic managed to grab ahold of Knuckles and used it to turn him around so he would take the brunt of the fall. Sonic pushed away from him at the last moment, leaving Knuckles with a single moment to react. The red echidna outstretched his arms and his instincts took over. Pushing off the ground he tumbled forward and landed on his rear with little grace.

"A sad cartwheel" Sonic laughed.

"I wasn't trying to impress you, I was trying to save my ass!" he hissed.

As Knuckles stood up he noticed a blinking red light behind Sonic's head.

"What is that on your head?"

"Oh this" the hedgehog turned around "I like to think of it as my strength enhancer."

Knuckles noticed the antenna stemmed down to a square machine that fused directly into his back.

"How do I get that thing off of you?"

"You don't Knuckles; this is permanent."

Not wanting to believe his words, Knuckles took a moment to think.

"I can't just rip that thing out of him that would kill him. If I can find Tails he might know how to remove that machine but there's no way Sonic would let him do that the way he is now. I'm gonna have to knock him out and see what I can do from there."

Knuckles smiled at his adversary and cracked his knuckles.

"Alright then, you win"

Sonic looked at him puzzled.

"I'll fight with you; just don't bitch when you lose."

"Ha! The bigger bitch is the one who hesitates!"

Sonic and Knuckles charged each other, locking their hands when they met. The two of them grappled fiercely; their egos burning bright at the chance to finally compete with one another. Sonic grinned maliciously at Knuckles trying to psyche him out. Knuckles didn't fall for it and clenched his fists tighter. He lifted the hedgehog by his hands and threw him against a rock.

Knuckles ran over to him and wrapped his right arm down around Sonic's left. He had trapped the hedgehog and landed several powerful hits to his jaw. Sonic dropped his head below the next punch and rammed the echidna in his gut. He shoved him back into the wall and used his feet to hold down Knuckles'. Sonic crazily head butted Knuckles until he started to see stars. Knuckles released his locked arm and struck the black hedgehog away.

He rubbed his forehead and tried to regain his wits. As he regained himself, he saw Sonic charge him once more with both hands clenched. Knuckles caught his right hand as he swung it but wasn't ready for the left. Sonic grinned as he opened his hand revealing a ball of energy in it. He released it in Knuckles' face and blew the echidna through the wall!

Knuckles flew backwards through the wall, crashing into various objects as his body bounced around, looking for a place to crash. He stood to the see the manic hedgehog coming at him again.

"Give up!"

"Like Hell I will!"

Knuckles grabbed his arm and flung Sonic into the wall beside him. He pulled back and knocked Sonic in the back of the head with a hard punch. The hedgehog twitched and writhed from the nerves going haywire in his head. Knuckles then grabbed him again and slammed him down into the floor, his hand clasped around his opponent's throat.

"I'm not going to let you kill anyone! You've done too much to deserve that!"

"What do you know? I murdered Eggman so what's to stop me from doing it to any of you?"

"Eggman was an evil maniac who wanted to kill all of us and you think there was a choice? Trust me if you didn't kill him I was about too. That jerk had way too many chances."

"I can't accept that Knuckles, there's no going back for me. You'll have to kill me if you want me to stop."

There was a strange silence that held the air for a moment.

"You're too good to die this way"

Knuckles cringed, pulling back his fist and punched Sonic so hard that he fell unconscious. A large purple whelp formed around his right eye as he lay there with a quiet innocence. Knuckles sat down and tried to calm his self.

He and Sonic had been rivals for years; a decade at least. Even when things were at their worst, Knuckles couldn't bring himself to hurt Sonic; let alone kill him. Knuckles placed a hand against his head, trying to shake the memories of what had just happened from it. It takes a lot of courage to hurt your friend to save his life.


	15. Station Square's Hero?

_**Chapter 15: Station Square's Hero?**_

Elsewhere in the city a battle of pride was about to occur between two giant beasts. Chaos had finally devoured the dull chaos emeralds and absorbed their power. It was just as Sonic had said; Chaos was able to attain his perfect form even without having the seventh gem present. As his body squirmed and grew slowly taking on its new shape, he caught the attention of Cataclysm nearby.

The giant red dragon turned to see his new adversary mold into his power. Cataclysm was stunned; never before had he met a creature on his level in so many ways. He watched as the gel inside Chaos crafted his lizard like face and his tentacle arms. Chaos was now the same height as Cataclysm and something to be revered.

Without hesitation Cataclysm charged his enemy and hit him with a left jab. Chaos fell over into a building, whipping out his tentacle to grab the ankle of the dragon. He knocked Cataclysm over his backside and the entire city felt the earthquake. The foundations of buildings started to buckle but were not quite ready to give in.

The red dragon stood back up to face the blue lizard. Chaos formed hands out of his gel like substance and connected with Cataclysm in a grapple. The two monsters pushed one another back and forth fighting for control of the city. The firefighters and the police found the scene trying to steal their attention but did their best to avert themselves to those in need. Other civilians stared on in the streets at the titans that threatened to ruin their homes with their competition.

Cataclysm finally won the struggle and pushed Chaos back with a mighty heave. He opened his mouth and readied a throat full of fire. Chaos didn't have enough time to ready a counter attack so instead he condensed his body into a ball form as the fire was released. The flames devoured all sight of the blue ball as the heat reached incredible levels! However, when the torrent finally cleared, Chaos returned to his perfect form without a single charred area on his body.

Despite this, Cataclysm's body was still able to flexible when it came to transformation and thus; the advantage was still with him. His body became gel like as he morphed into a giant dragon's head! He was able to hover in the air and support his great weight which was an accomplishment in itself. He moved in and attempted to chomp down on Chaos but took a right hook from the lizard's huge fist. Suddenly Cataclysm turned his head back and bit down on the blue arm of Chaos!

He chewed completely through it and pulled away with the arm as he retook his position. Chaos wanted this to happen and molded his hand right inside of Cataclysm's mouth. He fired a large ball of energy that blew off the front of the beast's mouth and left the rest of him smoking on the ground! Chaos' arm turned back into liquid and moved back into his body. As Cataclysm stood up and started to change back into his dragon form, Chaos extended the chaos emeralds from his body.

Using their power, a beam of colored light radiated from all six of them and into Cataclysm! The red dragon screamed and fidgeted as the power was being drained from his body. Chaos returned the negative energy back into the emeralds, leaving a weakened Cataclysm before him.

He opened his mouth and fired a pale beam that ripped Nega's version of Chaos into nothingness. The bystanders all cheered as they saw the monster be blown away. Chaos himself released a celebratory scream into the madness of the city. With a large twist of his body, he sent pieces of his skin everywhere into the distance! The large droplets put out all of the fire in the city almost immediately.

A huge mist rose between the buildings that cooled everyone's hearts from the terrifying event that had just happened.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

"You must concentrate harder!" Argon groaned.

Tails was trying to dodge a ball of energy that made zigzagged patterns towards him. He jumped, ducked, and even used his tails.

"No do not fly! In the second it takes you to think about flying over it you will be hit!"

They had already been practicing for about a week and Tails was slowly improving. Dodging the sphere was tough but he was able to stay ahead of it.

"Alright then" Argon bellowed "For this next part you may fly."

He snapped his fingers and the sphere broke into three! Tails immediately took to the air and hurried away from them. He took a second to look back at them and when he looked forward he saw two of them were already coming at him from that direction! He stopped his tails and dropped below them but fell directly onto the third! The energy burned his stomach lightly and made him regret his carelessness.

He spun his tails and gained himself as the three spheres came at him again. Two of them moved parallel to Tails' body and followed him as he moved higher. The third flew around in front of him and made the fox stop in place to avoid it. This was just what the other two had wanted and immediately moved inward to try and attack the fox.

Although Tails had been taking a beating, he was learning how his opponent was thinking. He stretched out his hands at the spheres and concentrated like never before. He imagined the spheres were being stuck in place, unable to attack him. The effects of the telekinesis were working as the spheres decreased their speed but it wasn't enough to stop them entirely. Tails used the free time to slip out of the way, readying himself for the next barrage.

"He's getting stronger" Argon thought to himself "It's been nearly a year and he's advancing wonderfully. I just hope he becomes strong enough to match Glaron's power."

Tails continued his training under the watchful eye of Argon. He had learned many things in the months they had spent together and it was still just the beginning. Glaron didn't realize the emerald he left behind that was so useless to him was the greatest gift Tails had ever received.


	16. Accepting a Killer

_**Chapter 16: Accepting a Killer**_

Blaze sat on the new cliff side she created and continued to weep. Her powers returned to normal as she watched the weather around her do the same.

"I took a life" she sobbed "Who am I to make that decision? What will my friends think? They'll hate me definitely!"

Her thoughts drifted to Cream, her best friend; what would she think? Cream was so innocent; how could she accept a killer for a friend? The thought of having to face her and tell her the truth was almost too much for Blaze to stomach.

"This must be how Sonic feels" she pondered "No wonder he didn't want anybody to know. Living with this guilt is almost too much."

She stood up and picked up a pebble. She threw it down at the water; sniffling the contents inside her nose. The rock bounced once before sinking with a bloop. She was angry at what happened, wanting to blame Eggman Nega for the events, but regardless she was the one to pull the trigger. She made the choice to end her opponent's life.

Eggman Nega was trying to kill her and her friends. This was justice was it not? Then why didn't it feel like justice? She took a deep breath and decided to face her friends, seeing it as the only way to ease her conscious. She looked down at the ocean one last time seeing no trace of the master emerald and decided it was best that it rested with Nega.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

She arrived at Tails' workshop several hours later. The sun had begun to sink into its bed for the day when she approached the front door. She walked inside to meet Amy, Cream, Knuckles and a wounded Sonic who was resting in bed.

"Hey guys" she said glumly.

She was met with the typical chorus of her excited friends when the questions came pouring in.

"Are you alright?" Cream asked.

"I feel fine, no worries" she smiled.

"What happened with Nega?"

There was an eerie pause among them; Blaze looked down at the floor.

"I understand" Cream stated "Knuckles told us about what Sonic did to Eggman as well."

Blaze looked up at the rabbit, her eyes welling up with tears.

"It was a shock for all of us to hear but we learned to accept what happened. We all have to face the fact that if we want our lives to be truly peaceful then we have to make bigger sacrifices."

"You don't understand" Blaze noted "My hands feel so heavy from the responsibility. They destroyed something that can't be brought back."

Knuckles was leaning against the wall with his eyes shut. He stood up and approached her.

"While you were fighting Nega I ran into Sonic. He wanted me to kill him but I knocked him out instead. I was hoping Tails would've shown up by now so he could work on Sonic but it doesn't look that way. Even though I didn't take Sonic's life, I still had to hurt him, and by hurting him I hurt myself in the process."

He put his hand on Blaze's shoulder.

"You have to hope you did the right thing Blaze. It's gotten you this far and without it you may die yourself."

Blaze smiled at him. She was touched that he remembered her words from earlier. Amy nodded at her.

"We're all willing to support your decision and carry the burden with you. We're your friends and we're behind you no matter what."

Blaze felt warm tears stream down her cheeks from all the kindness everyone had shown her. The four of them had a silent group hug giving the feline more love and warmth than she had ever known in her life.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Two more days passed like they were nothing. The group decided it was best to stay close for a while after everything that had been happening so they all stayed at Tails' workshop. Rouge was the only exception; she had returned to G.U.N for a special assignment days earlier. It was a regular motel the way everybody made room for another to stay for so long. Knuckles explained the situation between him and Sonic long ago and carried the poor hedgehog to the workshop on his weary back. Chaos had kept ahold of the chaos emeralds since he defeated Cataclysm which made it easier for Knuckles to rest at night.

The sun rose on the new day and things were moving along normally enough. Sonic was still in an unconscious state and no one knew how long it would last. There was an eerie comfort considering that if he woke up, what he might try to do to any of them so he was restrained to his bed.

As Blaze shuffled around the kitchen to make her breakfast, she stood before the kitchen window and watched the sun greet her with its brilliant heat. Knuckles had just woken up too and stood beside her at the windowsill.

"Sure is nice huh?" he smiled.

"Oh yeah" she smiled "Perfect way to start my day."

She nervously scratched her arm knowing she had to share the news with him.

"Um Knuckles, there's something I haven't told you."

He looked at her with an interested stare.

"Tell me" he said softly."

"The master emerald…it was destroyed along with Nega."

"That's ok" he smiled "It's no problem at all."

That wasn't the reaction Blaze was expecting. She looked at him with an odd stare, wondering if he was repressing his feelings for her sake.

"But I mean, it's gone; completely destroyed."

"And good riddance!" he laughed "That thing has caused me more problems than I ever wanted! My people have spent generations looking after it and what good did it ever do us? We've had more Hell than any reward we could've ever gotten from that eye sore."

He smiled and looked at the sun, taking in a deep breath.

"Freedom" he whispered.

Blaze smiled at him and put her hand against his.

"Glad I could see you free"

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Things in the Negative Dimension were heating up with Argon's training. It had been about three years now and Tails was notably stronger and looked a bit different. He had grown a few inches taller and the three hairs on his forehead had grown into a patch of hair that stretched down just over his eyebrows. His body had become tone and a darker orange than normal.

"Concentrate Tails!" Argon yelled "Watch the spheres!"

"Relax Argon" Tails laughed "You're gonna give yourself a heart attack!"

Tails was standing in one place and dodging three spheres of energy like they were nothing. Argon snapped his fingers and the orbs split into 12 new spheres and became even faster. Tails continued to laugh and dance beyond all of the efforts of the energy balls. Argon had to acknowledge Tails' strength but wasn't ready to let him relax.

He snapped his fingers one more time and 64 decent sized spheres of energy appeared. Tails took to the air and weaved through them as they pursued. The energy tried different formations to try and catch the fox off guard but were unable to combat Tails' new psychokinetic abilities. He could stop time or slow it down so the spheres were no challenge for him; he always had plenty of time to think. Some of the spheres were stronger than the spell and were able to come at Tails with full speed. Tails simply outstretched his hands and blasted them away with his own energy to combat them.

He landed on the ground and smirked at Argon. He felt so powerful and it made his head fill with hot air easily. Tails wondered if this was how Sonic felt when he toyed with Eggman all those years.

"Very good Tails" Argon praised "Before I teach the technique to pass through dimensions, I have one final test left for you."

Glaron waved his staff and two large golems appeared.

"Defeat them" he said as he vanished into the darkness behind him.

The two golems immediately lunged at Tails with their large hands. The fox jumped back out of the way as the two of them smacked into each other.

"Oh please" Tails laughed "This is just too easy."

One of the golems charged Tails with open hands like before and tried to grab him as he took to the air. Tails hovered above the golem, taunting him by flying just out of his range. The distraction was working as the other golem activated his camouflage. He closed his eyes and moved in towards the unsuspecting fox.

Tails grew tired of playing with the man of stone and hit him with a blast of energy to knock him away. As he did, the other golem leaped into the air and appeared before Tails! The fox was caught off guard and tried to stop time but was unsuccessful. The golem delivered a heavy punch to Tails and knocked him down against the ground, bouncing as he made contact.

"Do not lose focus!" Argon droned "Not all of your opponents can be defeated by manipulating time!"

Tails scolded himself as he stood up.

"Yeah, yeah" he complained.

He pursued the two golems who were standing side by side. Their hands detached and chased the fox as he continued to rush in. Tails dodged them and leaped up between them. He kicked the two fists onto one another's faces and opened his hands away from each other, releasing a blast of energy that destroyed both of their heads! Tails landed with confidence as he watched their smoking bodies collapse beside one another.

"No way are they getting up from that" he boasted.

"Don't be so sure" Argon questioned.

The two golems began to stir once more. Their headless bodies stood up and looked around for each other. When their hands met they reached around one another and strangely began hugging one another. Their bodies lit up with white light as their figures melded into one another's. The two golems were reformed into one large beast of stone with four arms and two heads!

"Oh jeez" Tails groaned "It just doesn't stop."

He charged the new monster and leaped into the air. Two arms reached for him but missed and the other two were ready for him. They covered Tails in a circular grip and the beast rumbled with a low chortle. This was exactly what Tails had wanted. He fired a blast out through one of the fingers and escaped the grip. The beast yelled and squirmed, trying to release his grip but was unable to.

"It's not happening monster" he explained "Covering your entire body in a time stopping spell would be too difficult so instead I created a smaller area of the spell that covers your hands."

The beast was feeling the effects as he struggled violently against himself to break the grip. He finally pulled apart his arms from his hands, leaving them inside the timeless territory. Tails focused his energy on his psychokinetic powers and separated the two hands from the territory and used them to grab the other two hands and hold them in place! The beast was now paralyzed by his own grip!

Tails flew down in front of the beast and smirked, trying to get it to admit defeat. The super golem wasn't ready to give up just yet! He opened both of his mouths and readied two blasts. The fox held up both hands and readied his own attack. The two heads fired their beams and Tails fired his to match! Trying to focus all his attention in different places made his psychokinetic effect weaken and the two broken hands released their grip. The two free arms rushed up at Tails to try and grab him!

The fox noticed this just in time and released his beam to allow himself to fall below his opponent's beam. The super golem moved so quickly he thrust his hands into his own beam and blew them apart! The monster howled, now having no more hands to use. Tails saw this opening and fired his beam once more and destroyed both heads on the golem!

The creature writhed and yelled as the rest of his body became unstable and exploded from the energy! Pieces of his body rained down from the air and landed all around the tired fox who rested on his knee. He tried to catch his breath as Argon reappeared before him.

"Excellent work Tails" Argon smiled "You are indeed worthy of this technique!"

Tails stood up and nodded; regaining his composure.

"The time has come for you to challenge Glaron once again and save your dimension from his wrath! I know you can do it!"

Tails gave Argon a thumbs up as his face grew serious.

"It's time to repay the favor."


	17. Declaring War

_**Chapter 17: Declaring War**_

"Your power is far greater than when I first met you Tails" Argon stated "You will be able to use the chaos emeralds effectively."

Tails was listening closely to the old sage's words.

"You may have noticed before that in order for you to reach your super form you required a minimum of the super emeralds to get to that state. This was mostly due to the fact that you were too young to realize that ability in yourself but through the training you've done in the past few years you have matured greatly."

The fox smiled at him and nodded.

"You are now on a level the rest of your friends are and this power should come to you naturally."

Argon tossed the dark blue chaos emerald over to Tails.

"Before we leave here, keep in mind that it will have been several years for you but only a few days out there. Your friends will have a lot of questions for you."

The two of them chuckled for a moment.

"Alright then, let's begin. Take your stance."

Tails took a fighting stance with his hands at his sides and his knees slightly bent.

"Imagine your power becoming one with the chaos emerald. Let it meld into your being and become one with your strength."

Tails relaxed his body and shut his eyes. He imagined the emerald being an extension of his own abilities as he held it and it slowly started to sink into his palm. He took deep breathes and continued focusing, absorbing the emerald entirely.

"Excellent" Argon praised "Now focus on the area before you. It's just like your psychokinetic training did. Create a subspace of time that is so slow that it damages the fabric of space around it. This dimension is more fragile than it appears and is an extension of your home dimension so it should lead you right to it."

Tails began to concentrate. He stretched out his hands and put all his energy into stopping time in one circular shaped area. The place before him began to churn and twist with a strange mist rising up from its edges.

"Yes yes!" Argon cheered "Keep at it Tails!"

The blackness of the spot changed to a white color and released a powerful wind in Tails' direction. The edges of the circle lit up like they were being traced with a blade and the fabric of the dimension began to wear away.

"Don't stop! You're very close!"

Tails made one more push and forced himself to try harder. The spot before him blew open and exploded with light as an image of his workshop filled the void. The hole released a wave of fresh air into the realm that tickled the fox's senses. He cheered and laughed with Argon.

"My boy you really are something!" the old man hailed.

"I couldn't have done it without you" Tails added.

"I suppose so but this means my work here is done."

"What? Argon I can't do this without you."

The old sage coughed for a moment before he could speak again.

"I've strained myself too much. I can't be away from the emerald for so long because it's detrimental to my health."

Tails summoned the emerald from his hand and watched as Argon began to turn to mist.

"I will be with you for this fight my son. No matter what you must do, don't let Argon win. His powers are too evil to be left in existence."

The old man groaned and the rest of his spirit was funneled back into the emerald from whence he came. Tails stared at the emerald for a moment. Had Glaron never left this behind Tails really would have died in the Negative Dimension. Tails owed Argon more than he could ever give and was deeply grateful for everything he had been given by the old spirit. He leaned into towards the emerald and whispered "thank you" before absorbing it back into his hand.

The fox turned to see the portal had already begin to shrink and so he quickly hopped through it. He popped back into the air and filled his lungs with a deep breath. He hovered in the air, feeling the breeze from the sea tickle his brain with a liveliness he hadn't felt in years.

"This is awesome!" he laughed "I'm finally home!"

The fox flew in circles through the air and raced up towards the sun. It was so bright and so beautiful that it made Tails feel invincible for just being alive. He stretched with a loud moan before he set himself down on the ground. He looked around at the Launchpad, kicking up some dirt to see just how real it was. He had been gone for so long that even kicking dirt felt like an experience.

"Happy to be home?" he heard a voice.

He turned around expecting to see one of his friends but met a smirking Glaron instead. He was leaning against the door to Tails' workshop.

"You!" he screamed "Are in for a serious ass kicking!"

"Whoa now" Glaron teased "You aren't the same fox I left to die in there. What happened to you?"

Tails revealed the chaos emerald to him.

"The one thing you chose to discard is the one thing that's gonna help me defeat you."

"Oh how cliché" Glaron laughed "I really didn't think you could use that old thing. Let me guess, Argon taught you a few tricks?"

"How do you know about Argon?"

"Because you fool, I'm the reason he had to seal himself inside that emerald to begin with!"

Tails felt his legs quake at the information. If Glaron's words were true then he was a much more dangerous force than Tails previously thought.

"You're lying!" he contested.

"Oh no I'm not aren't you curious how Argon knew my name? And how he knew I was using these?"

Glaron revealed seven grey gems that were fused into his hand.

"Are those…?"

"The evil chaos emeralds, yes; it was a royal pain trying to bring these things back you know. I had to deal with that fool Nega and all of his idiotic creations. He really should've gone into social work with that kind of IQ."

Tails was only half listening to him, still deep in his own thoughts.

"So you're the one who sealed Argon in the chaos emerald?"

"Not exactly, you see I've been around for thousands of years along with the chaos emeralds. When I tried to take the chaos emeralds from the group of sages who guarded them I nearly died. The only way I could escape was to fling myself into a time portal and hide inside some innocent kid's body; namely yours."

There was an eerie pause between them before Glaron continued.

"Likewise Argon and his little friends didn't get away unharmed either. I had them so close to the brink of death they had to fuse their bodies with the chaos emeralds to survive. It makes my blood boil to think about it even now! They found a way to stay alive and keep me from using the chaos emeralds for all these years but now I've finally found a way to loophole that problem."

He stared at the evil emeralds once more.

"They might be guardians of the chaos emeralds but they are powerless before the might of the master emerald. Why do you think it's so crucial to use them together? The master emerald nulls the sages' powers and then anyone can use them however they want. But the chaos emeralds alone are of no use to me, I just wanted them for the negative energy."

He held them up in the sunlight and they shine a black light against the blue sky.

"But to have two negative energies…I really am a genius."

Tails looked at the chaos emerald he held and pondered what his chances really were.

"Don't worry" laughed Glaron "The chaos emeralds are still intact. I had to drain some of their energy so the evil emeralds would mimic the energy signals and create their own negative energy. It's as close as synthetic can get to real these days."

"I don't want to hear anymore!" Tails screamed "Just tell me where my friends are."

Glaron snapped his fingers and five statues appeared before him. Frozen within them were the friends he loved and the rabbit he particularly cared for.

"What the hell did you do?"

"Their 'frozen' in time you could say. It was really easy to sneak up on them."

Tails took a step forward to put the pressure on his foe.

"I wouldn't do that" Glaron challenged "My hand might slip and…"

He placed his hand against the statue of Cream and pushed it forward. The fragile stone rabbit toppled onto the ground and shattered into several misshapen pieces! Tails dropped to his knees with an outstretched hand. His panic had eaten away his ability to think and left him unable to stop her from falling. He screamed as fluid burst from his tear ducts and he hit the ground violently.

"Oh suck it up will you? I really should've picked a stronger creature to be my 'better half.'"

Tails stood up in a blinding rage and looked at Glaron.

"Touch another one of those and I will rip you in half!"

"Now that's the kind of attitude I've been looking for!" he laughed "That's good, bring that with you to our fight."

Glaron pointed an open hand towards the air behind him and opened up a black portal. He slowly floated up and into the opening.

"I tried to make this place your graveyard once. This time I won't fail."

"You won't get the chance!" screamed Tails.

The orange fox leaped after Glaron and chased him into the Negative Dimension. Tails felt his stomach cringe as he passed through the barrier to be in the ugly realm once more. The two foxes felt their tempers burn in their heads as their rivalry came to a boiling point. This would be the last time either one would allow the other to live. This battle would decide who had the right to live.


	18. A Fox's Reason To Fight

Hey folks. Sorry for the pause in updates there. This is the longest chapter yet but the most important by far. =) Next chapter will be the last one so stay posted!

_**Chapter 18: A Fox's Reason To Fight**_

The two of them landed in the Negative Dimension with different emotions in tow. Glaron felt his spine tingle at the thought of being surrounded by darkness. Tails on the other hand felt his stomach wrinkle as his feet pressed against the hard floor. He had just tasted freedom for the first time in three years and in all cruelty was thrown back into Hell.

"I won't give you any more gifts" Glaron taunted "I'm going to watch you wither away; every minute of it."

"Come and try it you sick freak!"

Glaron charged Tails with a ready fist and swung it immediately. Tails saw it coming and dodged it hastily but moved too quick to notice the other clenched fist of Glaron. He fired a blast right in Tails' face but the orange fox threw his guard up and blocked most of the impact.

"You're so sloppy" Glaron laughed "You're no different from before!"

"That's what you think!"

Tails focused his mind on Glaron and attempted to halt time. Glaron continued his assault on Tails without slowing his pace.

"Is that all you got?"

Tails panicked as he saw the green fox bound closer and stepped up his concentration. Glaron began to slow down and when he realized it, he wasn't happy.

"What the…? Stupid fox!"

Glaron focused his time ability on his self and charged Tails at an even faster pace! He close lined the orange fox and left his head spinning as he hit the ground. Tails wasn't ready for it and shook away the dizziness as he stood up. Glaron was a lot stronger than he'd imagined and would have to step up his game.

Tails fired off three energy balls that chased after Glaron. The green fox took flight and kept ahead of the sphere but wasn't prepared for the tricks Tails had planned. He snapped his fingers and two of the balls separated into halves creating five spheres altogether. The four smaller ones pursued Glaron while the fifth one rushed away into the darkness. Two of the spheres then vanished from their pursuit and reappeared before Glaron to corner him. The fox stopped short and the other two caught up, releasing a beam of energy that created a barrier to trap Glaron!

He writhed between the spheres as they clung to the sides of his body and paralyzed him. Just then the fifth ball appeared above Glaron and descended right towards his face! He tried to stop the sphere just before it reached his face but was unable to find the concentration and took a direct hit!

Tails clenched his fist with a cheer but held out as he watched the smoke clear. From the smoky area a beam of white light cast itself towards Tails. He dodged it then watched as a chain of several more rained down from the sky! He moved quickly and was able to stay ahead of them until one shot down behind him and he crashed into it, pressing his back into the silo of energy!

He groaned and fell to his knees as he looked up to see a smiling Glaron emerge from the smog.

"I planted those a long time ago" he boasted "You can't imagine the traps that are frozen in time around you! It would be like seeing how many germs are squirming around on your body as we speak."

The green fox began to chortle as Tails made a bold move and charged him. Glaron was ready and disappeared from his place. Tails swung at pure air and looked around to see nothing around him. He knew something would be coming and took a deep breath. He shut his eyes and let his thoughts drift to his surroundings. He reduced time to a speed that was almost nothing in a large radius around his body and waited.

Within minutes a gloved hand stretched out from a portal and released a volley of energy balls in slow motion. Tails moved away from the shots as they scooted slowly through space but as he did he stepped out of his radius accidently and noticed a green figure rushing at him from his side. Glaron charged him with a large energy ball around his fist and by reaction Tails put all his energy into his time ability and froze Glaron in place!

The scared orange fox had shut his eyes as he released the spell and opened them to a frightening sight. Glaron had a horrific grin that exuded death through his teeth as he held the energy ball inches from Tails' face. A cold sweat broke out on Tails' face as he slipped away from the pathway of the menacing foe. He released time to when he was safely away to see Glaron change directions instantly and collide into Tails with his deadly attack!

The orange fox bounced across the ground as the bruises on his soul came to the surface. Glaron continued to laugh at the struggling animal.

"You think just because you can stop me you can stop my mind? I could see everything that was going on and was waiting for the moment you'd let me free."

He took a few steps forward as the evil chaos emeralds emerged across his arms. He started firing grey blasts that collided with Tails' body, making the poor fox wince.

"You're even more pathetic than the first time I faced you. I'm really going to torment you in a nice and slow time radius for as long as I can."

Tails felt his body wince every few seconds from the blasts and his heart flutter each time he hit the ground again. The back of his mind felt cloudy before his thoughts became loud and abrasive.

"Sonic wouldn't quit ya know" he told himself "He would stand and fight until he had nothing left. He wouldn't cry or frown, just fight until he knew we were safe. Being stronger physically doesn't mean you have the courage to do what's right, now get up! Stand up and use your courage!"

The next energy ball that came at Tails dispersed around his body as the fox stood up. A stream of blood ran down the side of his lip while his face was showing a few signs of bruising. Glaron became enthused at the sight of his revived ally and motioned him forward with a wave.

Tails rushed him so quickly that Glaron was knocked from his feet! He flew backwards and collided into a wall of energy behind him! The electricity clung to his body and held him in place.

"You aren't the only one who can lay traps in time!"

The angry fox blasted Glaron from a distance and ripped him through the wall of energy! Glaron felt his body ache after being sandwiched between two forces of energy as his mind went dizzy from the assault. He continued to be pushed backwards as he approached the spheres of energy that were trapped in the time radius from earlier and collided with them in a large explosion of light!

Glaron felt the heat of the light burn at his entire body as he was engulfed in a beacon of crucifying energy. Tails suddenly appeared before him and grabbed ahold of the green fox.

"What the hell are you doing?" he screamed.

Tails' body lit up with a golden energy as his body detonated like a bomb and magnified the insanity of the explosion! The two of them were huddled at the center of the madness and had their bodies gnawed at by the light surrounding them.

It was several minutes before the lights dimmed and things returned to normal. Tails reappeared several meters away from the explosion and took a knee as he watched the energy subside.

"That took a lot out of me" he thought "I really hope he doesn't come back."

The light dulled to a small glow as a strange figure took shape amidst the blinding whiteness. A black figure dispersed the remaining energy and made itself known as his features became visible.

Glaron had used the evil chaos emeralds to survive the attack and hovered before Tails in a new form. His body was coated with a black armor lined his appendages. The seven emeralds were fused into his torso and his eyes were covered with an eerie blood red energy. His teeth had become elongated and as sharp as railroad spikes as he grinned at his competitor. His voice had become distorted like an anonymous voice beyond a machine.

"You are better than I gave you credit for but not good enough. You cannot defeat me now, not without the chaos emeralds."

Glaron motioned his hand forward and large spikes began to rise up from the floor. Tails leapt up to avoid them and looked down at the possible gravesite with a shiver. Touching the ground was now out of the question. Glaron motioned his other hand and the area around Tails filled up with several spheres of energy with evil faces. They each had pointed eyes and sharp teeth like their master.

"Demon Balls" he noted "Move from that spot and they blow you to pieces."

Tails waited for Glaron to charge him. He swung a kick at Tails' head but he dodged it. Tails continued to glow with golden energy as he countered Glaron and drove a fist deep into the gut of his enemy. One of the demon balls saw Tails moved and rushed at him in a hurry. He clamped down on the fox's arm with its mighty jaws and detonated before the fox had a chance to cry out. Tails flew backwards and the other demon balls gave chase. Tails hurried away from them and once he got enough distance from them he cast a time radius spell on them.

Glaron rushed Tails during this moment and dealt a heavy uppercut to his chin. Tails' head flew back and left his stomach open to a heavy gut check. He coughed out fluids as he was flung back forward from the impact. Glaron continued his assault and grabbed Tails by his hair. He released an explosion of energy in his face and blew the fox away from the impact.

The golden fox flew backwards and fell towards the spikes but grabbed the tip of it with his hand to stop himself. Glaron came up behind him and drove a knee into his back, trying to force the fox into his oblivion. Tails gagged but kept his muscles tight to avoid them from touching the spike. He accelerated time around his body and escaped the situation. He returned the same sentiment to Glaron and shoved him into the spike!

His chest sank in a few inches and blood wept from his torso as he held the spike for dear life. Tails let up and waited for his nemesis to recover and return to his stance. Glaron held his chest and winced as he stared angrily at Tails.

"You're just a coward" Tails taunted "You're too afraid of being loved or cared about. Instead you pick on everyone else. Well I'm _not scared!_ I'm going to do whatever it takes to save my friends but I'm not psychotic like you. Please end this insanity! You can change and we can leave this whole thing behind."

Glaron listened closely to Tails' words. He closed his eyes and his breathing became peaceful again. He opened his eyes slowly with a tear in them.

"There's no way I can go back. This is the path I have to live. I am evil and I can never change that."

"Yes you can! All you have to do is want to change! Everything else will fall into place."

Glaron was silent for a moment. He stopped time around his opening and the blood flow ceased to pour out.

"Maybe you're right" he said softly.

He moved closer to Tails to look at him, see if he truly believed in the green fox. Tails' eyes had a strange glow of their own. Amidst his glowing aura was a small flame in his eyes. They were a tender, innocent fire that wanted peace. They resembled Sonic's eyes the moment he tried to stop Eggman.

Tails felt an intense cloud of fire erupt against his back and he fell forward into the ready knee of Glaron. As Tails' head flew back he saw a devilish grin on the face of Glaron. He had been tricked and it may've just cost him everything. Tails' weak body drifted backwards into a large group of demon balls that all bit down at once!

Tails screamed as they all detonated around him and ripped at the bulk of his body. The golden fox's aura became dull and he fell down against one of the spikes. He was thankful he didn't crash into it because he was too weak to try and avoid it. He looked up at the green fox who laughed like a criminal that had just killed his favorite victim.

Tails pressed himself against the spike to try and lift his self up but found it more difficult than he first thought.

"I can't quit" he thought "I'm going to do this on my own! No machines; just me!"

He remembered Cream as she was frozen in stone and the look of horror upon her face. The moment she was destroyed still burned in Tails' mind and made his adrenaline heat up his body again. He turned around against the spike and clasped both of his hands. He had one more good shot left in him and he needed to make it count.

The dark blue emerald glimmered in his hand as he fired a large blast that headed right for Glaron! The sinister fox was so gloating that he didn't notice the beam right away and was caught off guard. He touched his hands together at the wrists and fired a blast to match Tails'; flexing his muscles to make the beams even out. Tails managed to push himself up from the spike while blasting to hold his self in the air above it. The two fired their attacks at an oblique angle and gave it their best.

They were both very tired and wounded from their trials. Glaron felt the toll of the evil chaos emeralds begin to set in and Tails knew his energy wouldn't last forever.

One of the demon balls had been hovering around in the air when the struggling beams caught its attention. It rushed down violently at Tails and chewed into his tail as it exploded. Tails screamed from the pain as he felt his blast weaken against Glaron's. The green fox saw this happen and used the idea to his advantage. He broke one hand away from the attack and held it out to release several more demon balls. Tails panicked as he saw the vicious spheres rush at him.

Suddenly in the back of his mind, Tails thought he heard Argon's voice.

"Believe in your cause and the rest will follow."

Tails let his heart illuminate allowing his body to tingle heavily and glow brighter than ever! Several small flickies flew out from his aura and charged the demon balls! The flickies used their beaks to destroy all of the spheres and save Tails from Glaron's attack. He had transformed into his super form with only the use of one chaos emerald!

Tails kept the moment going as the flickies returned to his aura. He let his body release every last bit of energy into the beam and pushed it towards Glaron like a raging river. Glaron began to lose the struggle as the evil emeralds in his body illuminated and began to crack.

"You're nothing!" he screamed "I made you all that you ever were!"

"I'm too strong to ever lose to you!"

The torrent of energy roared as it began to overtake Glaron's body. The evil fox felt his pupils burn out like a broken light bulb as his body was slowly ripped into nothingness by the intense light of Tails' beam. Glaron wailed and squealed as his consciousness was pulled into oblivion. The beam pushed forward and disappeared into the darkness like a shooting star.

Tails panted so violently that he began to salivate and touched down on the ground as it returned to normal. His muscles were so weak that they trembled violently as he lay against the spike. It took him several minutes to catch his breath when he began to notice the sky above him appeared to be drooping.

The upper area of the Negative Dimension was beginning to collapse in a full scale erosion of space itself. The fox panicked as watched the ground begin to quiver around him and wondered just how long he had before things became out of hand. He tried to get himself to stand up but found his muscles were easy to give in after everything they had gone through.

As the Negative Dimension continued to decay, Tails feared he would not be able to escape the last trap set by Glaron.


	19. What We Lose By Surviving

Well folks here it is: the final chapter of the story. I'd like to thank you for taking the time to read my story. I greatly appreciate it. ^^ However if you are one of those people who like to skim through chapters I must insist that you take the time to read the story. I think you'll enjoy it.

If anyone has any final thoughts feel free to review. Did you like the story? What could've been improved? Who was your favorite villain and what made them so likeable? Did the story feel balanced with all the characters or did it seem choppy at some points? These are a few things to think about while reading the ending. Feel free to comment on them in a review.

One last thing, there will be one more story in this arc. Check my profile for more details.

_**Final Chapter: What We Lose By Surviving**_

The Negative Dimension continued to coagulate around Tails after the vicious battle. The spikes in the floor wilted into spongy curves of matter beneath the fox as he tried to find his strength.

"I'm so tired" he cried "I'm going to die here!"

"If you accept defeat then you truly have."

The dark blue chaos emerald in Tails' hand rose out from his palm in a burst of light and Argon appeared above the injured fox.

"You're not going to die here; I'll see to that personally."

Argon disbanded his staff and pulled up the sleeves on his robe as two yellow orbs began to glow around his hands. He pointed one towards the sky to freeze the decomposition of the dimension. He pointed the other at Tails and lifted the fox's body up from the ground, encasing him in a golden glowing sphere.

"What's happening?" asked Tails as he started to fade in and out of consciousness.

"Glaron created this dimension; he was that powerful. If you hadn't stopped him when you did I can only imagine the terror he would've inflicted with the evil chaos emeralds. Now that he is gone, his creation is melting away from existence. He's trying to kill you the same way he did before but he will not succeed."

Argon motioned his head forward and a rift in the dimensions appeared leading back to the Mystic Ruins. Tails began to slowly drift towards the exit from the sage's powers.

"I will stay here and see to it this horrible place is destroyed forever."

"No Argon" yelled Tails who started to flail against Argon's power "You can't do this! Who will protect the chaos emerald?"

"I'm too old for this kinda thing" he laughed "The emerald was what saved your life to begin with so you are best suited to be its guardian now."

Tails was helpless against the spell that slowly pushed him out of the Negative Dimension. He fussed and yelled as he watched Argon slowly disappear before him, his head staring towards the sky as his power began to fade. The fox stretched out his hand as he was pulled away from Argon forever. The father-like figure for Tails disappeared into the darkness of the unknown once more by the fate set by Glaron.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Tails had fallen unconscious after that and slept peacefully for several hours. He began to stir when he heard familiar voices.

"He must've been through a lot."

"Yeah he doesn't look the same."

"Check out his hair! It looks awesome!"

He opened his eyes slowly to see Knuckles Blaze, and Amy standing around him.

"You're awake!" she cheered.

"Where am I?"

"You're in your workshop dude" Knuckles said coolly "We found you snoozing on the ground outside."

"But you guys were statues, how did…?"

"I'm not sure exactly" Blaze noted "One minute this strange green fox that looks like you shows up and the next thing we remember we saw you lying on the ground. We were afraid you had died."

"I almost did several times" he said glumly "Glaron really wanted me dead."

The group looked at each other with puzzled expressions.

"It's a long story. So if you guys are here, then where's…"

Tails sprang up from his bed and ran outside. He saw the pieces of Cream's statue lying on the ground. The fox whispered several denials as he fell to his knees. He had woken up from everything like it was a bad dream but not the reality punched him square in the face.

"What's wrong Tails?" asked Amy.

"You guys were turned to statues…this one…this one…is…"

He was breathing so irregularly from the sadness he couldn't muster the words; and he didn't have to. Amy started to tear up herself and turned to Blaze for sisterly comfort. Knuckles shut his eyes and looked down with his arms folded. He tried to hide his tears but they began to leak through his tough guy façade.

Tails was vulnerable to the pain as well as hot tears stream down his cheeks. Even though Glaron was dead, he had immortalized his hatred for Tails. The poor fox's mind began to weaken and he had to leave the group to be alone. The others spent a few more moments there as well before leaving to grieve alone.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-

In the days that followed everyone was reluctant to talk to each other. The loss had cut them in a soft spot they couldn't imagine they ever had. Tails had collected up all of the stones from Cream's statue and locked them in a wooden chest. He had tried several times to return her to normal with the time spells he learned from Argon but they were ineffective. Glaron had lost his life but he had won the battle with Tails.


End file.
